


The Fallen

by Heartcrystal2000



Series: Undyingtale [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Asgore is a good goat dad, Developing Friendships, Evil Frisk (Undertale), F/F, Flowey gets a cameo, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Good Chara (Undertale), Hearing Voices, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Other, Partial Mind Control, Post-Undertale Genocide Route, Romance, Sharing a Body, Slow Burn but only at first, Survivor Guilt, Tags Contain Spoilers, but he’s still kind of a jerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-09-23 20:52:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 35,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17087537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartcrystal2000/pseuds/Heartcrystal2000
Summary: A week has passed since the human’s defeat—the Underground and all of its inhabitants are still shaken from the attempted genocide, but life is at least starting to return to normal. Monsters are returning to their homes, Alphys is continuing her research on determination, and Asgore and Undyne are working to rebuild their devastated kingdom. However, not everything is going smoothly. Strange things have begun happening to Undyne, things she can't explain, and soon it becomes apparent that something is very, very wrong.





	1. Too Real (Undyne)

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel time! I really had fun writing this part of Undyingtale, and I think it’s the longest thing I’ve written so far. *cough* It basically consumed my life. *cough* Like with the first part, I wrote this a while ago, so updates on it will be more frequent than most things I post.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Images flash before my eye, almost too fast to make sense of. Blood. Dust. Monsters running and screaming. My people being slaughtered. After a few moments, the visions subside and I find myself standing in the middle of an empty cavern, weapon in hand. The tip of my spear is streaked with blood. " _Was I in a fight?_ "

The floor is coated in a thick layer of dust. " _What_ happened _here?_ " I think as I bend down and examine the remains. " _So many dead monsters... Only a human could have done this,_ " I realize. " _And if another one has fallen down, will we even be able to stop them?_ " I stand back up and look around the area, searching for any sign of the culprit. The cave seems to be empty. Suddenly, I hear someone behind me say, "U-Undyne?"

I turn around and see Alphys approaching, looking afraid but unharmed. " _At least she's safe,_ " I think. I want to run over to Alphys and hold her and tell her that I'm going to find whoever did this, but I feel like I'm rooted to the ground. I try to say something, but no words come out. " _Why can't I talk?!_ "

She keeps walking towards me. Once again I try to move, but I can't. Something is very, very wrong here. Alphys stops a couple of feet in front of me. "Undyne," she asks, "w-what happened? Y-you're not hurt, a-are you?"

Without even meaning to, I raise my spear into an attack position.

Eyes widening in shock, Alphys backs up half a pace. "W-what are you d-doing?" she asks, fear surfacing in her voice.

My arm moves back, and my stomach drops when I realize that my spear is now aimed at Alphys's heart. I feel like I'm no longer in control of my body. I try to shout at her to run, but my mouth stays shut.

Quick as lightning, I strike at Alphys. She shrieks in terror and tries to dodge, but she isn't fast enough. The weapon makes contact and she stares at me for a heartbeat before bursting into dust.

I wake up gasping for breath and with my heart racing. I quickly sit up and glance from side to side, expecting to be surrounded by dead monsters. All I see are the familiar sights of my bedroom. I lie back down, concentrating on breathing slowly and deeply, on calming myself. " _It was just a nightmare. It's not real. I didn't kill Alphys,_ " I tell myself. " _Just a nightmare..._ "

Rolling onto my side, I look over at my cellphone on the bedside table. After a couple of seconds, I reach over and grab it. I prop myself up on my elbows and dial Alphys's number. I listen to the dial tone for several seconds, nervous. " _Pick up your phone, Alphys. Please pick up. I need to know that you're okay._ "

Finally, I hear Alphys's voice on the other end of the line. "Who is it?" she asks sleepily.

"It's Undyne."

"Undyne? Why are you calling so early? Is everything okay? You sound upset."

I hesitate for a moment before responding. "I'm fine, Alphy," I say quietly. "I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"O-oh. That's really sweet of you. B-but you don't have to worry about me so much. I'm okay. Really," she answers.

"Okay. I just wanted to make sure," I reply.

We're both silent for a few moments before Alphys asks, "Are you still coming over tomorrow? It w-would be nice to see you."

Despite my nightmare, I can't help but smile. "Of course I am! I've missed you!"

"O-okay, then! I'll see you tomorrow, I-I guess?"

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Alphy," I say before hanging up. I put my phone back on the nightstand and lay back down with a sigh. " _It was just a nightmare. Alphys is fine. There's nothing to worry about,_ " I reassure myself. I roll over and glance at the clock. It's a little after two in the morning. " _Wow, Alphys wasn't kidding when she said it was early._ "

I lie still with my eye closed for several minutes, trying to get back to sleep. Still, the image of Alphys dying plays over and over in my mind. Eventually, I get up and walk into the main room of my house, turning the lights on as I go. I head over to the Hot Fridge and grab a box of tea from on top of it. A short while later, I sit down at my table with a freshly-brewed cup of tea and take a sip. The hot liquid burns my throat, but I don't mind. It proves to me that I'm awake.

" _I've never had a nightmare that intense before,_ " I think. " _And why would it be about me hurting Alphys? I would never do something like that to her!_ " I finish off the last few mouthfuls of tea. " _Maybe I should tell her about this. She's smart, maybe she'd be able to figure out what caused this._ "

I consider this for several moments and almost decide on telling her, but then I think about how our relationship has changed. I don't know how she'll react to my dream. I don't want to put what we have at risk, so I decide to keep my nightmare a secret for now.

I stand up and put my empty teacup in the sink before heading back to my room, feeling a little bit more relaxed. After tossing and turning in bed for a while, I finally drift off into a restless, dreamless sleep.


	2. Light in the Darkness (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne heads over to Alphys’s lab, and while the visit cheers them both up, worries still linger in their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m never not gonna ship this ship, they’re just too cute.

At 8:30 in the morning my alarm clock starts beeping. I roll over and glare at it, contemplating just going back to sleep. At least until I remember that I'm going to see Alphys today. Feeling a new burst of energy, I jump out of bed and start getting ready.

Thirty minutes later, I've brushed my teeth, had breakfast, and put on jeans, a nice shirt, and boots. I'm ready to head over to Alphys's lab.

I run all the way there, even through Hotland. In just a few minutes I'm standing in front of the lab. I knock on the door, and Alphys opens it almost immediately. She grins and throws her arms around me. "H-hiya, Undyne!" she says.

I laugh. "Hi, Alphy."

Alphys suddenly leans closer and gives me a quick kiss. She smiles at me nervously. I give her a shy grin in return. She hugs me for a moment longer before stepping back. "W-would you like to come inside?" she asks.

I smile and step into the lab, grateful to get out of the heat. She follows me inside, the door closing behind her.

She looks at me for a moment before inquiring, "Are you okay, Undyne? You sounded really worried on the phone."

Seeing her concerned expression, I sigh and explain, "I had a nightmare last night. You'd gotten... hurt. I called you to make sure what happened wasn't real."

"O-oh. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," I respond. "I've had nightmares before. They're no big deal."

Still, Alphys looks troubled. "Seriously, I'm fine!" I reassure her. In my head, I add, " _It's not like nightmares can hurt anyone, no matter how bad they are._ "

The two of us stand there in awkward silence for a few seconds. Eventually, Alphys asks, "S-so, uh, what would you like to do? Maybe we could watch some a-anime?"

For a brief moment, I feel a pang of disappointment as I think back to when she told me that the anime she loves to watch are not, in fact, human history documentaries. However, my disappointment is quickly replaced by delight--those shows are still fun to watch. And besides, I like seeing Alphys happy. "Sure," I say with a grin. "Sounds fun!"

Her face lights up. "O-okay! I'll go get the DVD's. W-we could watch it on the monitor!" She rushes off to find the videos.

She returns a couple of minutes later, carrying a DVD case and some pillows. She pops the disc into a slot on the control panel of the giant monitor and places the pillows down in front of it.

I sit down on one of the pillows. Alphys presses a few buttons on the monitor console before sitting down next to me as the anime starts to play.

" _Alphys really loves watching these,_ " I think as I look at her. She's leaning forward, resting her chin in her hands as she observes the drama on the screen. Her eyes are sparkling, and there's a happy little smile on her face. Her yellow scales seem to glow under the fluorescent lights. " _How does she not know how beautiful she is?_ "

I reach over and drape my arm around Alphys's shoulders, pulling her close. She lets out a little surprised squeak. Her cheeks turn pink, and she stares at me, wide-eyed. I grin at her. "This okay, Alphy?" I ask sheepishly.

"Y-yeah," she says, blushing. "This is really nice." She snuggles a little closer to me. I can feel myself start to blush, too.

We stay like this for the next couple of episodes--not even saying anything, not really needing to. We just sit in quiet contentment as the anime plays.

Every so often, I sneak a glance at Alphys. Her eyes stay fixed on the screen in front of us. Except one time when I look over, she's looking up at me, too. Our eyes meet. She turns her head and looks away shyly, revealing the faint bruises that still circle her neck. I wince. "You have been doing okay, right?" I ask. "I mean, you haven't been thinking of... of hurting yourself at all, have you?"

Alphys turns back to me. "N-no, I haven't. I-I promise I haven't."

"You know you can tell me if you have felt like that."

"Undyne, I r-really haven't tried to h-hurt myself, a-and I haven't thought about it." She curls up against me and continues, "I did what I did before because you and M-Mettaton were the o-only two people who ever r-really understood me and accepted me. Y-you two were the only things that k-kept me going after what h-happened with the amalgamates. W-with everyone dying and you two g-gone... i-it was just too much. I c-couldn't handle it a-anymore. But I promise you that I _w-won't_ do that again." She blinks back a tear.

"It's okay, Alphy." I give her a hug and a kiss on her head. "It's okay. I believe you."

Silence fills the room for almost a minute before Alphys asks, "What about you? A-are you okay?"

I hesitate. "I don't know. I guess so. It's been a rough few days."

"Have you been feeling okay? Y-you haven't been feeling like you're going to d-die again, r-right? And your determination h-hasn't been causing a-any problems?"

"No, it's nothing like that, Alphy. It's just that so much has happened so fast and everything is so different now!" I take a deep breath. "So many of the people I care about are gone. You and Asgore and Sans are pretty much all I have left. And then finding out about my determination and taking the human's soul... it's just a lot to deal with."

Alphys curls her fingers around mine, rubbing the back of my hand. "Well, I'm here for you, okay? If you ever want to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks, Alphy."

She nods. "I'm just really happy you're okay."

"Yeah, me too."

"I watched you die, you know," she whispers."I watched the whole fight."

I remember going to Alphys's lab on the day I died. I remember telling her to watch me fight the human so she could tell Asgore to evacuate if something went wrong. She begged me not to go. But I told her that I had no choice. After what the human had done to everyone... to Papyrus... I had to stop them.

"Undyne, are you okay?" Alphys asks, looking at me worriedly.

I suddenly realize that I had been staring off into space. "I'm fine, I was just thinking. And I'm so sorry you had to see what happened to me." I pause for a second before asking, "I melted when I died, didn't I? Like the amalgamates did."

"Y-yes. You must have started producing more determination, b-but the amount you would have needed to bring yourself b-back to l-life again must have just been t-too much for you to tolerate," she explains softly.

I can't help shuddering a bit, remembering the feeling of my scales melting and my body turning into a puddle. "You're probably right. It felt like that's what happened, anyways," I say. "I guess my determination only works once, huh?"

"Maybe not. It might be possible for you to use it again, at least just to make yourself stronger. E-especially now that you have a human's soul. I just don't think that you can use it to bring yourself back again."

"I guess that kinda makes sense. Maybe we could test that sometime?"

"M-maybe, if it's safe."

"Yeah. I mean, I'm fine with that if we can't," I reply. I smile a little bit. "A science experiment would be fun, though."

She giggles. "Why do I feel like you would just wind up making things e-explode?"

I grin at her. "Because explosions are awesome!"

We both start laughing. Alphys sighs and rests her head on my shoulder. "I r-really love you."

I wrap my arms around her, rubbing her shoulders and back. "I love you, too."

She smiles and closes her eyes, looking more happy and relaxed than I think I've ever seen her. For the first time today, all thoughts of my nightmare have completely left my mind.


	3. On the Nature of Souls (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys and Undyne run some tests on Undyne’s magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of these beginning chapters are going to be from Undyne’s perspective, but don’t worry, the others will get their time in the spotlight, too!

Some time later, after we've finished watching several more episodes, Alphys turns to me and asks, "H-hey, do you remember when we were at Grillby's with Sans?" I nod. She continues, "We talked about doing experiments on your determination. Would you like to start those t-today?"

"Sure!" I say. "Although you did just say that I would probably just make a ton of things start exploding."

"I know. That's why I'm going to keep you away from any flammable things."

Chuckling, I say, "Alright."

Alphys gets to her feet and turns off the monitor, then starts walking towards the elevator. "Most of my equipment a-and my files on determination are in the basement," she calls over her shoulder.

I get up and follow her. We step into the elevator, and she presses a button. The doors close, and we begin our descent. A short while later, we reach the hidden lab. Alphys begins leading me through the corridors.

The lab doesn't look that much different than when I saw it five days ago, although I can't say I was paying that much attention to it last time. The grey-blue tiled floors are still scratched and dirty. The dull teal walls are still caked with dust. Cobwebs hang in a few of the corners. It looks like this place hasn't been properly cleaned in years.

I follow Alphys into a room with a long counter covered in pots of golden flowers. "This is where I did a lot of my research on souls. I was testing to see if these flowers could be vessels to hold monster souls. It, uh, d-didn't really work," she explains as she begins clearing flower pots off of the table. "But I figured we could use this room as a workplace."

"Alright," I reply.

"I'll get my notes and some supplies, then!" she says as she leaves the room.

Alphys re-enters the room a couple minutes later, carrying a big cardboard box filled to the brim with notes and chemistry equipment. She plops it down on the table, starts pulling things out of the container, and spreads them around on the counter.

I notice that she's left a small vial of glowing red liquid in the crate. The label is covered in angry scribbles, blotting out whatever was previously written there. I pick the vial up and look at it, curious. "What's this?" I ask.

"O-oh. That." Alphys bites her lip and continues, "It's d-determination. I'd managed to extract some from the human souls. T-that's what's left."

" _So this is what saved me._ " I examine the vial for another moment before placing it on the counter. I look around at the piles of paper. "You took _this many notes_?!"

"As far as I know, I-I'm the first monster to discover determination," she tells me. "I wanted to document my findings as thoroughly as possible."

I laugh and give her a kiss on the snout. "You're such an adorable nerd."

Alphys goes red in the face and stammers, "S-so, uh, do you w-wanna start r-researching?"

"Yep! Where should we start?"

She picks up a giant book of monster history. "There's only been one other time where a monster has absorbed a human soul. I-it was--"

"Prince Asriel and the first fallen human, right?" I ask.

"Y-yeah. I think that the human's name was Chara," she explains.

Alphys puts the book down on the table and flips it open to a chapter about the royal family. "After the human died, Asriel absorbed their soul, took the human's body, and crossed the Barrier," she explains. Then she turns to me, eyes brimming with excitement, and says, "Undyne, do you know what this means? You could get out of the Underground!"

It takes a second for this bit of information to fully sink in. "We could still go ahead with Asgore's plan, then! I could cross the Barrier and collect another human soul for him to absorb!"

A worried look crosses Alphys's face. "Y-you would do that? Y-you would fight another h-human?" she asks.

"Of course I would! If I get a seventh soul for Asgore, then monsters can finally go free!"

"B-but you could be _killed_! Y-you know your determination p-probably won't be able to save you a-again!" Alphys's voice is rising in pitch.

"I'm a lot stronger now, Alphys. I can take on a human," I explain. " _With my new soul, I'm sure I could._ "

"Y-you might have to fight more than o-one! W-what if they called for help, o-or a group of them a-ambushed you, or a-all of them are as s-strong as the l-last one that fell? P-Prince Asriel d-died when he went to the Surface!"

"Asriel didn't fight back. I will."

"Undyne, you aren't invincible! I know you're powerful, and I know you'd fight back, but you could still die!" Alphys shouts. Her voice cracking, she continues, "I-I can't lose you, Undyne. I c-can't go through that again."

I'm startled into silence for a few seconds. Alphys looks away, wringing her hands. "Alphy..." I say, my voice soft. "Alphy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

She sighs and responds, "I-I know. And I know you could probably fight off a human. It's just... I-I'm worried that you might wind up trying to take on more than you can handle." She pauses before continuing, "I-if you really are going to do this, p-promise me that you'll come back."

I kneel down and take her hand in mine. "I will _always_ come back to you, Alphy," I vow. After a second, I add, "Besides, I'd have to talk to Asgore about crossing the Barrier. He might not even let me go."

"O-Okay. I trust you," she says. "We should probably get back to researching, s-shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

I stand up and turn to the table. "So, what's next?" I ask, trying to take Alphys's mind off our argument.

"Uh... I-I guess we could start studying your determination now? I-if you don't mind?"

"Sure," I reply with a smile.

This appears to calm Alphys down some more. She turns to the table and starts prepping a chemistry set. "O-Okay, we know that you have determination, but we don't know how you got it or how you can tolerate it," she explains as she sets up. "Most monsters can't handle determination at all, l-let alone _use_ it."

Her face falls, and she says, "I-if they have too much of it they... m-melt."

"Like I did," I add.

Alphys nods solemnly. She turns away from me and keeps setting up her equipment. I can tell that she's still upset from earlier--her shoulders are slumped and her lips are pressed tightly together. I doubt bringing up my death helped. " _I'm gonna need to find some way to cheer her up._ "

I kneel down beside Alphys, resting my elbows on the counter and my chin in my hands. "What's all this equipment do?" I ask.  
Without taking her eyes off the vials and beakers, she says, "I-I thought that I could run some tests on the magic that makes up your body. Maybe it's different from other monsters?"

"What are you going to use the vials for?"

"If I get a sample of your blood, I-I can use this equipment to isolate and analyze your magic." She picks up a pair of beakers and some glass tubing. "See, I can use these to extract magic from your blood, a-and then I can run tests on it!"

Alphys explains in detail what every piece of equipment on the counter does, which seems to lift her spirits. I watch and listen intently, even though I don't totally understand everything she's saying. It's just nice to see her feeling better.

When she finishes summarizing her plans, she looks me and asks, "S-so, should we get started?"

"What do you need me to do?"

"I'm going to take a blood sample now. I need you to sit down and stick out your arm," Alphys instructs me.

I sit down in a nearby chair and put my arm on the armrest. It doesn't take Alphys long to draw some of my blood, which she puts in a test tube. She places the container in a holder and connects it to the rest of her equipment before turning everything on. I watch as the chemistry set begins to do its job.

Some of my blood is siphoned from the test tube into a larger beaker with a burner under it. Alphys flicks a switch and the burner lights up. She adds a couple of drops of some chemical into the beaker, and the mixture sparks and bubbles. I look on, fascinated. She turns back to me and explains, "Right now I'm drawing the magic out of your blood. T-then I'l be able to study it."

After a minute or so, a wispy, pale substance floats off the blood sample. Alphys quickly captures it in a vial. "Woah... Is that my magic?" I ask.

"Y-yeah!" she replies with a smile. "Neat, isn't it?"

"It's awesome!"

I get up and walk over to the table. My magic glows and pulses in it's little container. As I examine it, Alphys explains, "This is the magic that m-makes up your soul and body." She looks at it closely for a second before remarking, "I-it doesn't look too different than other magic I've seen, a-although it is glowing a little brighter than I'd expect."

Over the next hour, Alphys runs a variety of tests on my magic. I try to help her out when I can. Overall, the two of us don't make a ton of progress. Alphys manages to determine that I do have much stronger magic than other monsters she's seen, but that's about it. "T-that probably has _something_ to do with your determination tolerance, but I don't think strength alone is enough to account for how you were able to avoid m-melting for so long," she says before sitting down in her chair with a frustrated huff.

Just then, something occurs to me, and I say, "Hey, Alphys? Right when I first started feeling determined, something kinda weird happened."

She looks up at me curiously. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it was like I could feel everyone's hearts beating as one. That's when I started getting stronger," I explain.

Alphys considers this for several seconds before responding, "W-well, monster souls are believed to be made of love and compassion, which is part of why a monster's physical strength is so dependent on their emotional state. Maybe you could somehow sense the hopes of every other monster, and because you care so much about them, those hopes made you strong enough to tolerate a h-huge amount of determination."

"I guess that makes sense," I say to Alphys. "But how did I even get my determination? You said that monsters aren't born with it like humans are."

"Boss Monsters are actually born with trace amounts of determination, but normal monsters like us aren't," she explains. "Although, I-I guess it could be possible that an ordinary monster could occasionally be born with above-average levels of determination. Maybe through some sort of magical mutation? That doesn't explain how you can tolerate or use it, t-though," she muses.

A puzzled expression crosses Alphys's face, and she peers over my shoulder. Suddenly, something strikes the back of my head. I spin around, summoning my spear. Much to my surprise, I see Sans standing in the doorway. "Sans, what are you doing here? Why did you attack me?!"

"I'm just testin' a theory," he says cryptically.

Alphys jumps between us, as if to stop us from fighting, but then just stares at me in shock. "U-Undyne, y-your soul!"

I look down and see a bright red heart glowing on my chest. The human's soul. But it's not just the human's soul--inside the red heart, there is a smaller, white, inverted heart. Cracks spiderweb across its surface. After a few seconds, the souls fade away. I look back up at the other two monsters. "What was _THAT_?!?"

"I-I think I've heard theories about this before. Fused souls," Alphys whispers, awestruck. She looks at Sans and asks, "Did you know that would happen?"

"Nope, just had an idea and thought I'd test it out."

"Why did you have to hit me?" I ask irritatedly.

"I saw that the human's soul glowed when I fought 'em," Sans explains. "I was wonderin' if, since you absorbed it, it'd glow when you were fighting. Figured I could use that to see what your soul's like now."

I look back at Alphys. "Why was my soul cracked?"

"I t-think it's b-because you died," she explains. "That's what happens to monster's souls when they die. They s-shatter."

"But I'm fine now. Why would it still be cracked?"

"Well, ya weren't fine before you absorbed the human's soul, were ya?" Sans interjects.

"No, but the soul fixed that, didn't it?"

Alphys has started looking worried. "W-what was wrong before you took the soul? You n-never told me exactly why you did it."

"When I first came back, I was still dust. The only way I was able to keep my body from crumbling to pieces was by being determined to stop that human. Once I killed them, I started to die again," I explain. "But when I absorbed the human's soul, it completely healed me."

"Undyne... that means that soul is probably the o-only thing keeping you alive now. I-its determination must be what's keeping you f-from t-turning back into dust," Alphys says.

All three of us fall silent. " _Kinda funny that the soul of the thing that killed me wound up saving my life,_ " I think.

"That still doesn't explain how ya came back to life in the first place," Sans says. "That shouldn't even be possible."

"I think someone helped me," I say. "I could hear them talking."

"H-how could someone have helped you? How could they even communicate with you if you were d-dead? And how could they have brought you back?"

I think back to my time in the void, trying to remember who it was that saved me, but all that I come up with is a dull haze. It's like that whole experience was a dream that has faded from my mind. "I don't remember. I just know that there was someone else and that they wanted to help me."

"So, someone was somehow able to use determination to put your soul back together?" Alphys asks.

"Yeah, I think so. Just not enough to totally heal me."

My cellphone starts ringing, making everyone jump. I fish it out of my pocket and answer it. "Hello?"

"Howdy, Undyne," Asgore says over the phone. "I am sorry to interrupt your day off, but you are needed at New Home."

"What's going on? Did something happen?" I ask, thinking of everything that could have gone wrong.

"It is nothing serious. There was a scheduling error, and the Royal Guard recruitment meeting got moved up to today. It is taking place about an hour from now. Are you going to be able to be there?"

"Yeah, I can come. Just give me a little while to get ready."

"Alright. I will see you soon, Undyne."

"Bye, Asgore," I say, hanging up.

I sigh and look over at Alphys. "I have to go, Alphy. Someone messed up Asgore's schedule, and he needs me to go to New Home to recruit some new Royal Guards."

"Oh. D-do you know when you'll get another day off?" she asks, sounding disappointed.

"I don't know," I reply. "I'll ask Asgore."

I give Alphys a hug. She kisses me goodbye. "I'll call you later, okay?" I say.

"Okay. Bye, Undyne," she says with a small wave.

I smile at her and leave the room. "See you later, Sans," I say as I walk past the skeleton.

I ride the elevator back up to the main floor of Alphys's lab and head out the door. The moment I set foot outside, Sans steps in front of me. "So... are you and Alphys dating now?" he asks.

I pause for a second before responding, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess we are."

Sans smirks. "I figured you'd get together eventually, especially after ya took the human's soul to stay with her."

"That was your idea."

"And ya went along with it as soon as I mentioned Alphys."

"Look, Sans, I have to get going. I'll see you later, okay?"

Sans chuckles and walks away. "See ya, Undyne."

I turn and begin jogging back to my house, preparing myself for the long day of recruitment ahead of me.


	4. The Royal Guards (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne struggles with intrusive thoughts, as well as her own grief, as she recruits a new group of Royal Guards.

I start getting into my armor the second I get home. As I get suited up, I examine the spiked shoulder plates and green heart-shaped insignia, and I can't help thinking, " _It looks so different now. I guess it transformed along with me._ " Almost unconsciously, I reach up and touch the tips of my fins, which have become longer and pointier since I used my determination to bring myself back from the brink of death. " _Everything's different now..._ "

Immediately after I finish getting my armor on I set off for the capital. As I leave my house, I see a flash of movement by one of the cavern walls. It disappears in a second, although I can see a speck of yellow where it was. I walk over and bend down beside it. The tiny object is a single golden flower petal. " _That's weird. Golden flowers don't grow around here._ " I stand back up. " _Someone must have been bringing flowers to Snowdin or something._ " Not thinking much of it, I turn away and continue my walk to the capital.

It doesn't take me long to reach New Home--I know the way there by heart. I walk to the castle and go into Asgore's throne room. He's watering the flowers, so it takes him a couple of seconds to notice that I'm there. As soon as he does, though, he walks over and greets me. "Howdy. Thank you for coming in on such short notice, especially on your day off."

"It's fine," I reply. "It's part of my job."

Asgore nods. "Alright, Undyne, I will leave you to your work. Good luck with the recruits," he says.

"Thanks. I'll see you in a little while."

He resumes tending to his garden, and I head off into a side chamber to wait for the other monsters.

I'm early, so nobody should be showing up for a couple of minutes. I lean up against the wall, trying to relax. My thoughts drift to everything that's happened this past week. It's only been five days since I killed the human, but it feels like it's been an eternity. I've been working around the clock, and I'm definitely feeling the effects. It's hard to keep myself from dozing off as I wait for the potential recruits to arrive.

A few minutes later, two monsters enter the room--a Knight Knight and a Whimsalot. I walk over and stand in front of them. "Thank you for coming. As you know, the Royal Guard is recruiting new members. I need the Underground's best warriors to fight by my side if another human falls down here," I explain. The other monsters nod.

I tell the Whimsalot to step forward. "Let's see what you can do," I say, summoning my spear.

Glowing butterfly-shaped bullets materialize in the air, forming a circle around me. It contracts and expands in a dizzying display. More of the bullets begin to rise out of the ground. I knock several of them out of the air with my weapon and send a trio of spears flying at the circle enclosing me. They cut through the bullets like butter and miss the Whimsalot by an inch. He flinches. " _Have my attacks gotten stronger?_ "

The Whimsalot and I attack back and forth for a minute. He sends a wave of butterflies at me, which I block with my spear. I immediately strike back at him. This catches the monster off guard, and I manage to knock him down.

As I do this, I have the strangest feeling. It's a feeling of power and... delight. Not the usual satisfaction I get from winning a training battle, but a sense of exhilaration at being in a position to end a life with so little effort. " _It would be so easy..._ " The words pop unbidden into my mind, causing me to freeze.

The Whimsalot gets off the ground and looks at me expectantly, snapping me out of my shock. "You fought pretty well. Report to me tomorrow to find out where you'll be stationed. Welcome to the Royal Guard," I say.

"Thank you," the moth-like monster replies as he flutters out of the room. Over the next hour and a half, several more monsters show up--a Final Froggit, a Moldbygg, a Pyrope, and even a Temmie. I can tell that none of them have much combat experience, but they prove to be at least somewhat competent fighters. I accept them all into the Royal Guard. After all, it's not like I have much choice. It's surprising that this many volunteers even showed up.

But the other monsters weren't the only things showing up--I've had more strange thoughts and feelings. Thoughts of killing and death, of murdering monsters. Each time they've happened they've gotten more and more unnerving. " _I'm probably just tired,_ " I tell myself. " _There's nothing to worry about. These kind of things happen to people when they're really tired, don't they?_ "

As soon as all of the new Royal Guards have left, I head out into the throne room to check in with Asgore. He isn't there, so I search around the palace for a while. Eventually, I find the king in the back room of the castle. He's looking at the Barrier, paws clasped behind his back and a thoughtful expression on his face. I walk over and stand next to him. "You okay, buddy?"

Asgore turns to look at me. "Hmm? Oh, I am fine, Undyne. How did the recruiting go?"

"Alright, I think. Only six monsters showed up, but they all seemed to know a little bit about fighting, at least," I reply. "I let them all join the Guard. They're gonna need a lot of training, though."

"What about you? Have you been well? I know that these past few days have been very stressful for you."

I think back to all that's happened since the human fell--days and nights filled with meetings, speeches... funerals. Asgore had organized a ceremony to honor everyone that the human killed. I went to pay my respects, of course. He also commissioned a memorial for the fallen members of the Royal Guard. I wince when I think of my soldiers, my friends whom I will never see again. Whom I couldn't save.

"We have not had much time just to talk this week, have we?" Asgore continues.

"Not really," I reply listlessly.

"You seem unusually quiet today. You are not ill, are you?"

"I'm just tired," I say, forcing myself not to think about the whispers in my head.

Asgore looks into my eye, frowning. "I can tell when something is bothering you, Undyne," he says, "and something is definitely bothering you right now. You still feel guilty about not stopping the human sooner, do you not?"

"Yes, I do, okay?" I say, even though that's only part of the problem right now. I definitely don't want to tell Asgore about the voices in my head, and I don't feel much like talking about all of the deaths I could have prevented, either. "I should've tried harder to stop them."

"You tried as hard as you could."

"But it wasn't enough!" I snap, tiredness and stress turning my grief into anger. "If I'd killed the human when I first fought them, I could have saved so many other monsters! And if I'd gone after them sooner, the rest of the Royal Guard would still be here! I left them all to die! I even left my best friend to die!"

"No you did not! You did everything you possibly could and saved many peoples' lives!" Asgore replies sharply. He continues, more gently, "The other Royal Guards understood the risks of their job, they knew that they might be killed in battle one day. And while he was not a member of the Royal Guard, from what I know about Papyrus, he seemed to be willing to make that sacrifice, too."

He has a point, like he usually does. All of my anger starts to drain away--I never could stay mad at Asgore for long. I let out a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry for shouting."

"Do not worry about it, I understand. In any case, I think it would be a good idea for you to go home and get some rest," he says.

"But I still need to figure out where I'm gonna station the new Guards, and I have to figure out a training schedule for them--"

Asgore interrupts, "I will take care of all of that. I will write up some plans and send them to you by tomorrow morning, alright? You just get some rest."

I think for a second, then nod. "Okay, fine, I'll go home and try to get some sleep."

Asgore smiles. "Alright then. I will see you tomorrow, Undyne."

"See you later," I say, turning to leave the room.

"Oh, before you leave, I have a question to ask you," Asgore says.

"Yeah?" I ask, looking over my shoulder.

"How has Alphys been? I have not had the opportunity to talk to her in a while."

"Oh. She's been doing fine. I was actually over at her lab earlier."

Asgore smiles knowingly. "I assume that, by now, you have told her how you feel about her?"

I stand there, speechless for a couple seconds before asking, "How did you know...?"

"I noticed how you two seemed to feel about each other a long time ago," the king replies, chuckling. "And after what you went through, I doubted that you would risk her never knowing your feelings."

"How do you do that?!" I ask, amazed.

"Do what?"

"Read people's minds like that! It's crazy!"

Asgore starts laughing. "When you have been a king as long as I have, you learn to understand peoples' emotions quite well," he explains. "Now go home, Undyne. Enjoy the rest of your day off."

Smiling and shaking my head, I turn and leave the Barrier room. I start making my way through the castle and heading home. On my way through the capital, I run into Sans again. The second he enters my line of sight, I feel a flash of anger. The emotion dissipates as quickly as it arrived, leaving me feeling confused. "Heya, Undyne." Sans says.

"Hi, Sans," I reply.

"Ya sound stressed, is somethin' wrong?"

"I'm fine. It's just been a long couple of days," I say, forcing myself to smile cheerfully at the skeleton.

Sans narrows his eye sockets. "You sure?"

"Yeah," I answer, "just tired today."

"Hmm... Well, I'll let ya get home, then."

"Thanks, Sans. See you around," I say as I walk away.

A little while later I arrive at my house and head inside. I glance at the clock hanging above my front door. It reads 4:12 PM. It's not even evening yet, and I'm already feeling worn out. I sigh and start removing my armor. " _It's gonna be a long afternoon..._ "

I finish packing all of my armor away and then sit down at my kitchen table. " _I really do need to relax, don't I?_ " I think. After a moment, I glance over at my piano. I walk over, take a seat in front of the instrument, and begin to play.

My fingers race across the keys, sending a flurry of notes into the air. I'm not playing anything in particular, just pouring my emotions into the music. My song shifts and changes with my thoughts.

At first, the music is low and quiet, but it grows in magnitude with every passing second. Everything that I've felt these past five days I pour out onto the piano keys. I think of all the monsters who have died, and the song becomes deep and mournful. I remember my fight with the human. The notes turn frantic, like a series of attacks landed in quick succession. As I think about Asgore and everyone I've sworn to protect the music begins to turn bolder--even slightly hopeful. When my thoughts turn to Alphys, the melody grows soft and sweet.

Even after finishing my improvisational piece, I still feel uneasy. So, I decide to play for a while longer. Song after song after song drifts through the air.

Finally, I cease to play. As the last note fades from existence, I look over at the clock. Much to my surprise, it's half past seven. I'd been playing the piano for hours, getting lost in the music. On the bright side, I do feel a bit better now. " _I should eat something,_ " I think, getting up and stretching. " _I'm gonna need my energy for training tomorrow._ "

A short while later, I've finished my quick dinner of leftover spaghetti and head off to my room. As I get ready for bed, I think about the strange stuff that happened today. " _That was so weird, I've never felt that way during a fight before. Why did I feel like I wanted to hurt those monsters?_ " I crawl into bed and pull the blanket up to my chin. " _I never felt like that before the human fell. Maybe dying affected me more than I thought..._ "

Even though I'm tired, I find it hard to rest. Thoughts about my day swirl around in my mind for hours before I finally manage to get to sleep.


	5. Troubles and Trials (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between the pressures of her job and the worsening voices in her head, Undyne struggles to make it through the day.

I trudge through New Home, my boots scuffing against the stone. I'm so tired that I feel like I'm being dragged into the ground by the weight of my armor. Still, whenever I pass another monster I mumble a hello and plaster a smile on my face. People are still frightened from the human's genocide, and a lot of them have been looking to me as someone to protect them. I've tried to get Sans to help out--we did stop the human together--but he always has some excuse not to do anything. I add "get the skeleton to try working for once" to my long list of things to do.

It's been three long days since I hired the new Royal Guards, and those days have been full of arduous, hours-long training sessions. Having just finished a relatively successful mock battle, I'm off to make sure that everything's alright in all the areas of the Underground. I already know that everything is fine in New Home, so I move on to Hotland.

I slow as I walk past Alphys's lab, wishing that I had time for a quick visit. I haven't seen her since our date, except for a brief time yesterday when she was leaving a meeting with Asgore just as I was entering one. Other than that, we've only been able to talk over the phone. She told me that she's mostly been staying in her lab, continuing the experiments we started. Unfortunately, she hasn't managed to make much progress.

Much to my relief, everything checks out in Hotland, so I head on over to Waterfall. I usually enjoy patrolling the dark blue caverns of this section of the Underground, but today the tunnels feel cramped. I've been having more and more horrible nightmares, most of which have been set in Waterfall. Normally these caves seem peaceful and beautiful, but whenever I look around now I can't help but imagine piles dust scattering the ground.

Waterfall is really quiet today, and I only run into a couple other monsters during my patrol. I ask them if there has been any trouble today, to which they reply no. " _If Snowdin is this quiet, then I might actually be able to get some sleep tonight,_ " I think. " _If I don't have any more nightmares._ "

Things finally seem to be getting back to normal in the snowy little town--monsters are going in and out of shops and chatting in the streets. I can hear music coming from inside Grillby's. Several monsters say hello to me as I pass by. I stop and talk with them for a few minutes.

Eventually, I leave Snowdin Town and make my way into the surrounding forest. " _It's so empty here... People must still be too scared to leave town, especially since all the reports say that the human came from this direction._ "

I'm walking along a deserted path surrounded by pine trees, listening to the sounds of the woods, when I begin to feel dizzy. " _Not again... not again..._ " I think as thoughts begin to swirl through my head like a hurricane.

I can hear whispers in my mind, but they're so fast that they seem to blend together. I can barely understand any of the words, although I can discern the tone. Murderous, destructive. I can feel the killing intent to the depths of my soul. The whispering grows louder, and my head begins to spin. I stumble over to the nearest tree and lean against it, letting it support my weight.

After a while, the thoughts subside. When my head clears, I realize that I've slid part of the way down the tree. I sink to the ground and take in a deep, shaky breath. No matter what I do, no matter what I try, I can't stop these attacks from happening. Every day since my day off I've been collapsing like this, often more than once. So far I've managed to keep it from happening while I'm around other people, but who knows how long that will last.

Having regained a bit of my strength, I haul myself to my feet. After waiting a moment to make sure I can stand, I start making my way back to my house. I know I'm in no shape to continue patrolling. At least the Underground seems calm today.

" _Why does this keep happening to me?_ " I wonder as I walk. " _This couldn't just be stress, could it? Maybe it has something to do with my soul?_ " I picture my soul, imagining more cracks spreading across it and hoping the human's determination is enough to keep me alive. " _If this doesn't start getting better soon, I'll let Alphys know. But it's probably nothing serious, I could just be getting sick or something. I'll just take it easy tonight, and I'll probably feel better in the morning. I just need a good night's sleep,_ " I reassure myself.

It takes longer than normal to make the trek back to Waterfall. Once I get home, I get out of my armor, grab my cellphone, and slump down onto my chair. I dial Asgore's number. He picks up a few seconds later. "How was patrol today?" he asks.

In the most relaxed, cheerful voice I can muster, I answer. "Good. Everyone seems to be doing fine. It was really quiet today."

The line is silent for several seconds. "Alright then..." Asgore says.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. You just sound tired."

"I am pretty tired," I admit. "I haven't really been sleeping well."

"Hmm. Well, I had better let you get some rest then. Goodnight, my friend."

"Goodnight, Asgore," I say before hanging up. I put my phone down nearby and rest my arms on the table and my head on top of them, letting out a sigh.

I've almost started to doze off when I hear my cellphone ring. I reach over and grab it, looking at the screen. Alphys is calling. I answer the phone.

"How was your day, Undyne?" she asks.

I pause for a second before answering. "Fine. It was fine." My voice sounds strained, even to me.

"A-are you okay?"

"I'm alright, Alphys. Don't worry about me."

"You don't sound alright. If something's wrong, p-please tell me."

"Look, I just had a really rough day. I'll try to get some sleep tonight, and I'll be fine by morning, okay?" I explain.

"I-I'm coming over," she says abruptly.

"What? Alphys, I told you I'm _fine_! I'd love to see you, but you're busy! You have work to do! I can take care of myself," I reply.

"You d-don't seem fine to me. And work can wait. I'm r-really worried about you, Undyne. Y-you've been sounding so stressed lately..."

I pause for a moment. "Alright," I say with a sigh. "I'll see you in a little bit, then?"

"Yeah. I'll be right over," she says before hanging up.

I replace the phone in my pocket. " _At least I get to see Alphys. I just wish she wouldn't worry about me so much. I'll be fine,_ " I think. " _I can get through this._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just listen to your girlfriend, Undyne.


	6. Honesty (Alphys)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys learns of Undyne’s hardships and recalls her own, with the two finding comfort in each other’s company.

I see a faint light ahead of me in the darkness of Waterfall's caverns. I walk a little further down the tunnel and see Undyne's house tucked away in a small cave off the main path. Light shines through its two front windows. I go up to the door and give it a knock.

"It's not locked. You can come in," I hear Undyne call from inside.

I open the door and step into the house. Undyne is sitting at the table, her head bowed. She looks up at me as I enter the room. "Hey, Alphy," she greets me.

" _She looks exhausted!_ " I think. Her shoulders are slumped, her hair is messy, and there are dark circles under her eye. " _Has she gotten any sleep lately?_ "

Undyne gets up and walks over to me, pulling me into a hug. "A-are you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replies.

"You don't look fine. How hard have you been working?"

"Pretty hard. I'm taking tonight off, though."

"That doesn't sound like you. Is s-something wrong?"

She glances away. "No. Nothing's wrong."

" _There's something she isn't telling me,_ " I realize. I place a hand on her cheek, turning her face so that she's looking into my eyes. "Please tell me what's b-bothering you."

"It's nothing, Alphys. I just haven't been sleeping well," she says.

"Undyne, y-you've never been a good liar and you know that," I reply. "I-I'm really worried about you. I know you're not telling me the truth. P-please tell me what's going on, I want to help," I say.

She sighs and, after a moment, says, "Some really weird things have been happening these past few days."

"What kind of things?" I ask.

"The reason I haven't been getting a lot of sleep is because I keep having nightmares. Really, really bad ones," she explains. "In them I... I'm killing other monsters. I'm not trying to, and I don't want to. Something is making me hurt them. Something I don't know how to fight."

I reach out and grab Undyne's hand, reassuring her, "You wouldn't d-do that. I know you wouldn't."

"They just feel so _real_. Every time I close my eye, I see monsters turning to dust all around me." She squeezes my hand. "There's been worse things, too," she continues, her voice weary.

Never before have I seen Undyne act this way--so defeated-sounding and drained of energy. I'm having a hard time imagining what could possibly do this to her.

"I've been hearing whispers in my head, Alphys. It's like someone's talking to me. I can't understand what they're saying, but I can tell that they want to kill," she explains, rubbing the side of her head. She looks into my eyes. "Alphy, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. It's gotten so bad that it actually _hurts_."

"U-Undyne, w-why didn't you tell me about this s-sooner? What if t-this is s-serious?! You n-need to take time off from w-work, y-you need to rest!"

"I can't take any more time off. Asgore needs my help, and I have to train my soldiers," she explains. "I just need to hold on for a little while longer."

"You won't be able to help anyone if you work yourself into oblivion! I'm sure Asgore wouldn't want you to keep doing this to yourself, either!" I yell.

She finally gives in. "Alright. If I'm still feeling like this tomorrow, I'll call Asgore and tell him I need to take a couple days off, okay?" she says, giving me a little reassuring smile.

"Y-you promise you'll call him?"

"I promise."

I look over at the clock on the wall. It's starting to get late. "M-maybe I should go. You need to get some sleep," I say, turning towards the door.

Undyne grabs my arm. "Alphy, wait." I look back at her, and she continues, "Could you stay for a while?"

I nod, and she goes and sits down at the kitchen table. I walk over to her. "Thank you for telling me what's going on," I say quietly.

"Thanks for listening," she replies. "It actually really helped."

I sit down next to Undyne on the edge of the chair. She looks over at me, her gaze filled with a mixture of uncertainty and worry. "I-Is there anything I can do that would make you feel better?" I ask.

She considers my statement for a moment or so. "This," she says simply before leaning over and pressing her lips against mine in a fierce, desperate kiss. My heart almost seems to stop for a moment. I let my eyes slip closed and tilt my head to the side, returning the kiss. Undyne pulls me up onto her lap, holding me against her. I wrap my arms around her neck, sliding a hand up to the back of her head and running my fingers through her hair. One kiss turns into two, then three, then more.

Undyne pulls away after a little while. "Sorry if that was a little too forward of me," she mumbles.

"I-it's okay," I reply, unable to stop myself from smiling. "Um, d-do you feel any better?"

She smiles back at me. "Yeah, I do. A little bit, at least." Undyne glances down at my arms, which are still slung around her neck, and blushes sheepishly. Suddenly, I grow very, very aware of Undyne's hands pressing against my back, of the feeling of her breath brushing past my face, of just how close we are.

On impulse, I lean over and nestle my head against Undyne, my forehead resting by her collarbone. Undyne startles briefly, but makes no move to push me away. Instead she simply holds me closer and rests her cheek on top of my head. "I love you, Alphy," she whispers.

After a few seconds, I notice a faint sound filling my ears. It takes me a moment to realize that it's Undyne's heartbeat. I snuggle a little closer to her, listening to that quiet, steady rhythm that proves that she's really alive, that she's here with me.

For this little while, everything is absolutely perfect. Time feels frozen. I don't think about the human, I don't think about the amalgamates, I don't think about the Barrier. None of those matter right now. Nothing matters but this single moment.  
I'm not sure exactly how long we stay this way, but it feels like quite a while. Eventually, I look up at Undyne and say, "It's really getting late now. I should go."

"Okay. I'll try to get some sleep tonight," she replies, sounding truly relaxed for the first time in days.

The two of us stand up, and Undyne walks me to the door. We share one last hug and kiss. "C-call me tomorrow, okay?" I ask.

She smiles. "I'll do that."

I open the door and reluctantly step outside, looking back at my girlfriend. She waves at me. I wave back.

Once the door has closed, I start making my way back to my lab. All the way there, my thoughts keep turning back to Undyne and everything that has happened to her since the human fell.


	7. The Fallen Humans (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At long last, Undyne learns the true identities of an anonymous ally and an old enemy.

I can hear the sound of waves lapping against the shore. " _That's weird. I've never been able to hear the river or the pond from my house before._ " I open my eye and see that I'm lying on rough, dark blue stone--the same kind that's found in Waterfall. Confused, I sit up and glance around.

Now I can see that I'm on some sort of island. The blue rock extends out around me for a few hundred feet in each direction before disappearing into glassy black water--the lake is so huge that I can't see the horizon. The island itself is almost featureless except for a few small boulders and some low cliffs that drop off into the water. I look up and see only darkness far above me. Wherever I am, it has to be somewhere in the Underground. " _This looks like it could be a part of Waterfall, but I've never seen it before. Where_ am _I?_ " I wonder.

As I stand up, I realize that I'm wearing my armor. " _When did I put this on? Did I black out and lose my memory or something?_ "

A voice nearby startles me out of my thoughts. "Ah, I was hoping that this would work. You can hear me, can't you?"

I spin around and see the person who spoke to me--a young human that appears to be the same one I fought not so long ago. A haze of rage settles over my vision. I begin to stalk towards the human, summoning my spear as I go. They back up a little and raise their hands in a non-threatening gesture, but I barely notice. All I can think about is how this human killed my people, my _friends_. I don't even stop to wonder how they can possibly be here, I just know that, since they are, I'm going to have to stop them again.

"Relax, Undyne, I'm not here to harm you," they say.

"You're telling me that you're not going to hurt me?" I say, lips drawn back in a snarl. "After everything you did?"

"Please, allow me to explain. I--"

The human is cut off mid-sentence as I lunge forward, jabbing at them with my spear. They try to pivot out of the way, but aren't successful. My spear catches them in the side, opening up a shallow cut. The human winces and quickly staggers back. They try to move away, but their foot catches on a crack in the rocky ground, and they fall. I step forward and raise my spear over their chest, preparing to deliver a killing blow.

The human holds their arms above their head in a defensive posture and shouts, "I am not the one that killed you, Undyne! I need you to listen to what I have to say!"

I freeze, the tip of my spear poised just above the human. They continue, "It was a different human who murdered you and your people. The two of us look very similar. Please, look at me. I am not them."

I take a closer look at the human. Now that I'm more focused on their appearance than on killing them, I can see that they are in fact different than the human I killed. Their skin is paler and their cheeks are rosier. Instead of a blue and pink striped shirt they are wearing a light green and cream colored one. "If you're not the human I killed, then who are you?" I ask, not sure whether to trust them or not.

"A friend," they respond. "It's good to see you again."

"Again? I've never met you before."

"You have, although I doubt you remember. The void is strange like that."

It takes a moment for what they're saying to sink in. "You were the one who brought me back."

"Yes, that was me."

After thinking for a long moment, I dematerialize my spear and hold out my hand. The human takes it and stands up. "Sorry for attacking you," I say, looking at the wound on their side.

"Don't worry, this scratch isn't too deep," the human replies.

"Who are you?" I ask. "You didn't tell me your name."

"I am Chara," they answer, "the first of the humans to fall into the Underground."

I stare at them in shock. Chara notices my expression and continues, "Yes, I'm dead. I have been for a long time. That's what allowed me to find you in the void."

"How can you talk to me if you're dead?"

"When Frisk--"

"Frisk?"

"That's the name of the human you killed," Chara explains. "When Frisk fell into the Underground, their determination woke me from death. I did not fully come back to life, but my consciousness was bound to Frisk's soul. Since you absorbed their soul, I am able to communicate with you."

"But how did you bring me back to life?" I ask.

"Seeing as how I am connected to Frisk's soul, I was able to use some of their determination to bring you back to life. Once you were alive again, you were able to use your own determination to sustain yourself," they say.

"Why did you save me?"

"You don't remember much about when you were dead, do you Undyne?" Chara inquires.

"Not really."

"When you were in the void I told you that I needed your assistance to stop Frisk. I knew that Sans wouldn't be able to hold out forever against Frisk's power," the young human tells me.

"Frisk has some kind of special power?" I ask.

"In a way," they say cryptically. "What matters is that Sans would eventually fall, and then Frisk would destroy everyone. In fact, that's what I brought you to this mindscape to talk about."

"Mindscape?"

Chara gestures to our surroundings. "That's what this place is. We are connected now because of Frisk's soul, so I was able to bring you here. This little island is a product of your imagination."

I look around, amazed. "So I made this whole place? Is this like some sort of dream?" I ask.

"Sort of. Everything that happens here may only happen in your mind, but it is very real. Mindscapes act like the physical world. You can get injured--as you've seen--and you can also die," the human explains.

"You're not gonna attack me, are you?"

"I won't, but Frisk will."

"You mean that Frisk can come here, too?" I inquire.

"Yes," they say, "and I'm sure that they will soon. Their power has been growing very strong very fast."

I think about this for a few moments. "I beat Frisk before, I can do it again. I'm stronger now."

"I don't think Frisk will try to kill you. They will try to punish you first."

"Punish me? I know that what happens here is real, but it's not like it can affect me in the physical world, right?" I ask.

Chara's expression turns very grave, and they answer, "True, but that isn't what you have to worry about. Frisk wants to try to use you to continue slaughtering monsters."

"What?!" I shout. "How? I wouldn't hurt the other monsters! Never!"

"They won't need you to cooperate," they say. I'm starting to get a really bad feeling about all of this.

Chara continues, "When Asriel absorbed my soul, I gained a measure of control over him." They choke up a little at the mention of the young prince. "Frisk has that same control over you."

" _Frisk could come back. They could keep killing. They could_ USE ME TO KILL _,_ " I think, a cold weight settling in my stomach. "How do I stop them?"

"I don't know," they respond.

"There has to be a way!" I yell, my voice growing louder with each word. "I won't let them hurt anyone else!"

"I don't know how to stop Frisk--not permanently--but I know how you can hold them off," Chara says. "When Asriel arrived in my village and was attacked I tried to force him to fight back, but he resisted my influence. Undyne, if Frisk tries to take control, you _have_ to resist them. If you don't..."

"Everyone's gonna die."

"Yes, yes they will," a terrifyingly familiar voice says.

I peer over Chara's shoulder and see a small figure standing a ways behind them.

Frisk.

I immediately summon my spear and step defensively in front of Chara. "Stay behind me!" I say.

Frisk gives me a gigantic grin, their eyes glittering like shards of ice. "Still as protective as ever, I see," they remark.

Without a word I launch a barrage of energy spears at the murderous human. They duck down, causing the projectiles to fly over their head. The spears slam into the ground with such force that fragments of stone go shooting through the air. One of them clatters to the ground near Frisk, who picks it up. "Not as good as a real knife, but I suppose this will do," they say, examining the dagger-like shard.

I rush at the human, jabbing at them with my spear. Frisk pivots out of the way, avoiding the blow. They lunge towards me, and I hear the ring of stone on metal as their weapon connects with my armor. Luckily, it doesn't go through.

I summon more spears and send them flying at Frisk, trying to distract them. The human notices the projectiles and tries to move out of the way, but they aren't fast enough. A spear tears into their back. Frisk barely winces as their blood splatters to the ground. "Not bad," they say as they dodge another of my attacks, "given how exhausted you must be. My nightmares seemed to work well."

"You _sent_ those?"

"Yes, I did. One of the benefits of the bond between our souls," Frisk replies, swiping at me. Their makeshift knife hits the edge of my glove and slices my arm.

Grimacing, I back off a ways, circling my opponent. I keep my eye on Frisk, who stands still and watches me. "See, your fatigue gives me an advantage. While you have to fight after days with little sleep, I am just as strong as the last time we met," they explain.

Frisk darts forward. I try to stab them as they approach, but the human ducks under my spear. I feel their knife scrape along my armor for a moment before finding a chink in the metal plates and cutting through my scales. I groan as pain shoots through my side. The wound feels very deep.

In retaliation, I thrust the point of my spear into Frisk's leg. They stagger away, their makeshift knife glistening red. I step towards them, weapon held at the ready. They step back. We repeat this process for several seconds--forward and back, forward and back. For some reason, Frisk is slowly retreating.

Strangely enough, the wound on my side has begun to feel bitterly cold. It's like my scales are turning to ice. I begin to feel kind of dizzy and unsteady. Still, I try to ignore the feeling and keep fighting. I _have_ to stop Frisk.

I send spears careening through the air towards the human, who blocks and dodges all but one. The remaining projectile grazes their arm. Frisk seems barely fazed by the injury. The weird cold feeling spreads through my blood, freezing me and sapping my strength. " _This isn't right,_ " I think. " _Did Frisk poison me or something?_ "

Frisk seems to notice my worsening condition and grins. "Are you feeling ill, Undyne?" they ask in a sickly sweet voice.

"What did you do to me?" I growl.

They smile and reply, "All I did was attack you. It's your own soul that betrays you."

Spears materialize over my head and fly towards Frisk. They easily sidestep the projectiles, which shatter harmlessly against the ground. Frisk laughs. "You monsters are all so weak. No matter how determined you may be, you are no match for my power," they say. "Even if you don't die instantly, a strong enough intent to kill seems to almost be a sort of toxin to your kind."

Frisk darts forward--startlingly fast for someone with an injured leg--and crashes into me, driving their blade back into my already injured side. They twist it painfully, whispering, "I was at L.O.V.E. nineteen when you killed me. And since I no longer have a physical form, that's really all that's left of me."

I try to push Frisk away, but they just smirk at me and twist the knife a little more. The world begins to spin violently, and I can barely stay on my feet. It feels like my soul is being drowned in ice and darkness.

After a few seconds more, Frisk yanks their blade out of my side. I topple to the ground, completely drained of energy and barely conscious. " _I have to get back up! I have to win this fight!_ " I think.

I try to push myself up, flinging a few flickering energy spears at the human standing over me. Frisk dodges them, chuckling. They open their mouth, as if to speak, when Chara rams into them. As they kick and punch the other human, Chara shouts, "Frisk, you have to stop! If you keep going down this path, you will destroy _everyone_! Is that really what you want to do?"

Frisk grabs Chara's shoulder with their free hand and spins them around, pinning their arm behind their back. As the the other human struggles to escape their grasp, Frisk says, "What's gotten you so worried, Chara? You never tried to stop me before. Tell me, what's changed?"

"You know that this time is different! I know exactly what you're planning to do!"

Frisk smashes the blunt end of their makeshift knife against Chara's head over and over until the young human hangs limply in their arms. A trickle of blood runs down their forehead.

I begin to feel my soul burn with the familiar feeling of determination. I struggle to access that power, to find the strength that allowed me to push myself beyond my limits and stall the human before. And it works--at least, to an extent. My energy starts to return, but I am by no means back to full strength. Still, I have to try.

I stagger to my feet. "I won't let you win, Frisk. I won't let you hurt another soul."

Frisk tilts their head, their mouth turned up in an amused smile. "You are exceptionally determined, for a monster that is. You and that skeletal comedian even managed to defeat me," they say. "You have been ruining my plans, Undyne. Now it's time for me to repay the favor."

They lunge forward with a slash of their blade. I counter with my spear, but between my injuries and days with little sleep I'm not quite quick enough to block the blow. I try to step aside at the last second, but it's no use. Frisk's knife opens up a long cut along my shoulder and part of my neck.

Quick as a bullet, the human sinks their weapon into my chest. I gasp and try to shove them away. Frisk shakes their head pityingly and says, "Even now, you still refuse to give in. It truly is a shame that you aren't human--determination is wasted on monsters. Your power is _nothing_ compared to mine."

My spear slips from my hand, vanishing as it hits the stone. Frisk drops me to the ground. I don't have the energy to get up again. Not this time.

"Oh, and don't count on me granting you the mercy of death, or on your wounds finishing you off. Those will cease to affect you as soon as we leave the mindscape," Frisk explains.

"You aren't... afraid I'll stop you...? I did before..."

The human chuckles. "You and I both know that you are in no shape to do that. Even though your injuries only exist in this place, this fight has still weakened your soul. Now I can take control of you and finish ridding the world of monsters. And you are going to watch."

" _I can't let them do this!_ " I think. But in my heart, I know that Frisk is right. I can't win, not after the beating I just took. I glance over at Chara's still form lying a few feet away from me. I couldn't even protect one child, let alone everyone I care about. My heart feels like it's going to break from shame and sorrow.

"And do you know who I'll be going after first?" they ask.

A shiver of terror travels down my spine--I think I already know the answer.

The corner of Frisk's mouth twitches up in a chilling smile. "Alphys."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so happy to finally give the humans a proper introduction to the story!


	8. No Answer (Alphys)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys’s lingering worries are brought to the forefront when Undyne suddenly cuts off all contact.

It's almost ten in the morning. I pace back and forth in my lab, wringing my hands and glancing at the clock every minute or so. Nervous thoughts bubble up in my head like a pot that's boiling over. " _Why hasn't she called me? She always calls by now, and she promised that she would! Maybe she's just sleeping in? No, Undyne wouldn't sleep in this late. Although she did seem really exhausted..._ " I pull out my phone and look at it. No messages. " _She's probably just having breakfast or something,_ " I tell myself. " _She'll call me soon._ " Still, I can't shake the knot of anxiety forming in the pit of my stomach.

Ten minutes pass, then twenty, then thirty. Undyne still hasn't called or texted, and my worry grows with every passing second. I grab my cellphone out of my pocket and hurriedly punch in Undyne's number. The dial tone plays for several seconds before her phone goes to voicemail. I decide to leave a message. "H-hey, Undyne? This is Alphys. Last night, you promised you would call me, and you haven't yet. I-I'm getting a little worried, s-so, could you call me when you get this message, please? O-okay, bye." I pause for a second before adding, "I love you."

I hang up and drop my phone on my desk. " _I hope she's okay,_ " I think as I sit down in front of my computer. I know I should try to get some work done while I wait.

I spend the next half an hour cataloging and reorganizing all of the information I have on determination and typing up a few of my theories. By the time I've finished, Undyne still hasn't responded to my call. I decide to leave another message. " _Maybe she just didn't hear her phone ring?_ "

Undyne doesn't answer my second call either, or reply to the messages I left. By the time noon rolls around I'm nearly in a panic. " _Something's wrong,_ " I realize. " _She definitely would have called me by now, or at least texted me to let me know she's okay._ "

I pick up my phone again and call Asgore. As soon as he answers, I say, "H-hey, Asgore? Have you seen Undyne?"

"No, I am afraid that I have not heard from her since yesterday. Why do you ask?" he replies. "Is something wrong?"

"I-I don't know. I've been calling and texting her, b-but she hasn't responded. And she always calls to say hello by this time of day."

"Hmm. Have you tried checking your cameras? Maybe she simply decided to go for a walk and left her phone behind?"

"I-I didn't think of that. I'll check the cameras now."

"Alright. And I will let you know if Undyne calls me."

"T-thanks," I reply.

Right before I end the call, Asgore says, "Try not to worry, Alphys. I am sure that Undyne is alright."

I set my phone down on my desk and log back onto my computer. Within a couple of seconds I've accessed my surveillance system and started flipping between the different camera feeds.

I start by checking out the cameras in Snowdin, thinking that maybe Undyne started feeling better and went there to visit the other monsters. After a minute or two of looking, it's clear that she's not there. I click on the video feeds for Waterfall and continue my search, figuring that it's pretty likely that Undyne will be there if she's not patrolling Snowdin or in New Home with Asgore.

At first, I don't see any sign of my girlfriend. The caverns in that part of the Underground are so dark that it's hard to see anything. Still, I keep looking.

Eventually, my persistence pays off. After a couple minutes of searching, I see Undyne walking through a section of Waterfall that's relatively close to the entrance to Hotland. She seems to be looking for something. I sigh with relief. At least, I feel relieved until I notice the weird expression on Undyne's face. Her mouth is set in a thin line, and there's a strange glint in her eye. My anxiety starts to build again.

I stand up and start moving towards the entrance of my lab. I step out the door and into the warm air. I'm going to go find Undyne, and I'm going to find out find out why she's acting so unusually.


	9. Out of Control (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How can you fight an enemy that’s within yourself?

I can't move, I can't speak. I am completely under Frisk's control. The worst part is that I am completely aware of everything that's going on. It's like I'm a prisoner in my own body. My only consolation is that, so far, there has been no sign of any other monsters. There's been no opportunity for the human to hurt anyone. Not yet.

Frisk is walking me through Waterfall, in the direction of Hotland. I know we're headed to Alphys's lab. I've been resisting Frisk's control as much as I possibly can, but their hold over me is just too strong. The most I've managed to do is slow them down a bit. I have never felt so helpless.

We walk along like this for quite some time. Nothing has happened yet, and we're still pretty far from Alphys's lab. I can sense that Frisk is growing frustrated. I hope against hope that we won't run into anyone, that I'll have enough time to gather my strength and come up with some sort of plan. Once again, I try to summon my determination, hoping that my power will be enough to at least lessen Frisk's control over me. But just like the countless other times I've tried, it doesn't work. So far, it seems like my determination only surfaces when I'm gravely wounded. " _Would've been nice to have known that sooner,_ " I think.

We're very close to the entrance of Hotland now. I can hear the bubbling of the lava, and another sound, too--a voice. Alphys's voice, calling my name. I begin to struggle violently against Frisk's control, but nothing happens. I'm still going forward.

In a matter of seconds, Alphys comes into view. The second she sees me, her expression softens with relief, and she smiles. "Undyne, I was so worried about you! W-why weren't you returning my calls?" she asks.

My mouth goes dry as dread floods my mind. " _Alphys, Alphys you have to run. Please, you have to run!_ " I think desperately.

She steps closer, studying me. "W-why aren't you answering me?" she asks. "Are you okay?"

I want to scream at Alphys to get as far away as possible, to warn her about the human that's controlling me. I want to scream because I know what's about to happen. I want to scream because the woman I love is about to be murdered, and there's absolutely nothing I can do.

My spear appears in my hand. Alphys's eyes fill with concern and a trace of fear. "U-Undyne? W-what are you d-doing? Undyne, tell me what's going on." Her voice is high-pitched and panicky.

My arm moves back, raising my weapon into an attack position. It's like my nightmare is happening all over again. Frisk forces me to step forwards. " _Alphys, you need to run! Get out of here! RUN!_ " I try to yell, but no words come out.

Alphys pales. Her voice trembling, she says, "Undyne, y-you're scaring me. T-this is just some kind of j-joke, r-right?"

I step menacingly towards the smaller monster, my arm drawn back in preparation to strike. Alphys looks as frightened as I feel. " _Nonononono! I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!!_ " I think. I muster as much willpower as I can, frantically trying to counteract Frisk's influence.

I only manage to stall the attack for a second or so, but it's enough for Alphys to realize that something is horribly wrong. She begins to move away from me. I can't resist the human anymore, and my arm shoots forwards. Alphys screams and throws her arms in front of her face, ducking down in an attempt to dodge the blow. But I'm moving too fast. My spear slices into her left shoulder. She stumbles backwards, huddling against the cavern wall. She clutches at her wound with shaking hands and stares at me. Just stares at me.

Rage like nothing I've ever felt before rushes through my blood. " _NO!_ " I roar in my mind. " _I WON'T HURT ALPHYS! I WILL_ NOT _HURT HER! I_ REFUSE _!!!_ " I fight with everything I have, determined to protect Alphys from the thing that is trying to make me kill her.

I feel the human's power waver, then break. Suddenly, I am free and back in control. I know it won't be for long though, since I can already feel Frisk's strength starting to return. I turn my gaze to Alphys. The look she gives me--her eyes so full of hurt and fear--is enough to rip my heart in two.

" _I have to get out of here, I have to get away from Alphys,_ " I realize. " _I have to keep her safe._ " I let my spear fade from my hand before stealing one last glance at Alphys and darting back down the tunnel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, now I remember how painful this chapter was to write. These girls need hugs.


	10. Love and Trust (Alphys)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys struggles to understand why Undyne would attack her.

I stand with my back pressed against the wall, trembling like a leaf. My shoulder throbs with pain, and I can feel warm blood flowing between my fingers. Fear and shock keep me rooted to the spot. All I can do is stare down the corridor in the direction Undyne ran. " _She attacked me. She attacked me, she would have killed me, she was_ trying _to kill me,_ " I think, recalling Undyne's stone-cold stare as she marched towards me, how her expression didn't even change as she tried to stab me through the heart.

Part of my mind--the part of me that is still consumed with self-loathing, that believes I am undeserving of love--says that this is somehow my fault. " _Did I do something wrong? Does she not love me anymore? Did she ever love me?_ " I wonder. Then I think back to all of my mistakes and all of the people that I've hurt. My fear quickly morphs into sorrow. " _Why did I think I ever had a chance with someone like her? I shouldn't have let myself believe she could ever care about a failure like me._ "

Still, there's one tiny piece of my heart that whispers that what I'm telling myself just isn't true. It whispers that Undyne truly loves me, and that she would never willingly hurt me. Memories begin to surface. I think of the tender way that Undyne looks at me, how she has called me every single day to make sure that I'm alright, the sincerity in her voice when she tells me she loves me.

I remember how the look on Undyne's face changed right before she left. She looked horrified, like she couldn't believe what she was doing. " _She ran away from me. She could have killed me then, but she didn't,_ " I think. " _It was like she was trying to stop herself from hurting me._ "

I realize that I'm going to have to trust that Undyne wasn't trying to hurt me, that there must be something horribly wrong to make her do this. " _But what could be causing this? Maybe it has something to do with her nightmares?_ " I wonder. Thinking as hard as I can, I try to come up with some reason for my girlfriend's actions. " _Everything that's been happening started after she absorbed the human's soul. And no one knows what long-term effects human souls have on monsters. Could that soul have done something to her?_ "

Now that I think about it, I've never seen Undyne look the way she did when she attacked me--her eye completely devoid of emotion and empathy. Just like the expression that the human always seemed to wear. " _It must be the soul! It has to be!_ "

There's still a little part of me that's telling me I'm worthless and that Undyne wants me dead. I push those thoughts to the back of my mind and try to focus. " _I have to believe in her. I have to believe that she would never ever want to hurt me,_ " I tell myself. " _I have to believe that she loves me._ "

I whip out my phone and type in Sans's number. I'm going to need some help.

The skeleton takes his time answering, which doesn't surprise me. Finally, though, I hear his voice over the receiver. "Heya, Alphys."

"Sans, I-I need you to get over here r-right n-now."

"Is somethin' wrong? Where are ya?"

"I-I'm near the border of H-Hotland and Waterfall. P-please h-hurry."

"On my way."

The call ends, and Sans walks around a nearby corner a few seconds later. His eyesockets go dark when he sees me, and he rushes over. He moves my hand away from my shoulder and inspects the wound. "Who attacked you?" he asks.

I hesitate for a bit before answering, "I-it was Undyne. B-but Sans, I-I think something's wrong, I think the human's soul is doing something to her! We n-need to find her and get her back to my lab so we can find a way to s-save her!"

"You know we can't do that," Sans says. "We gotta tell Asgore."

"Sans, you have to believe me! Y-you know Asgore will have to send people out to c-capture her!" I shout.

"Even if your right, Alphys, Asgore needs to know about this. Undyne's dangerous. She could hurt someone," he explains.

"S-Sans please," I beg. "P-please, w-we need to help her."

The skeleton puts a hand on my uninjured shoulder and says, "I know you love her, Alphys, but ya can't let those feelings get in the way here. Besides, it'll be safer if the Royal Guard tracks Undyne down than if we do. And I'm sure Asgore'll let us talk to her and find out what's wrong."

I sigh and nod. "Fine, w-we'll go tell Asgore. But you _h-have_ to help me convince him that Undyne's n-not responsible for t-this."

Sans says nothing, he just grabs my hand and starts leading me away--probably getting ready to use one of his shortcuts. " _Don't worry, Undyne,_ " I think. " _I'll find a way to save you._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter wound up being like 1/3 italics.


	11. A Hopeless Choice (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barely able to resist Frisk’s control, Undyne is faced with a grim decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!

I've been running for a long, long time--my legs are sore and my lungs are burning. I slow and come to a stop. Breathing heavily, I look around. I'm in a small field somewhere in the far-reaches of Waterfall. Echo flowers sway gently in the breeze, and I hear a stream trickling nearby. It looks like nobody has been here for years.

Sorrow hits me like a tidal wave. A vision of Alphys, bleeding and frightened, flashes through my mind. " _I couldn't protect her. It's my fault that she's hurt._ " I think. " _She must think that I was trying to kill her._ " I want to run back and explain everything to Alphys, but I can't. Frisk's presence still lingers in the back of my mind like a toxic shadow. As long as they are there, Alphys isn't safe. I close my eye and clench my hand into a fist, digging my fingernails into my palm. " _Alphy, I'm so sorry._ "

I can sense Frisk's power grow slightly, like they're feeding off of my heartbreak. Anguish starts to turn to anger. " _If I don't stop them, they're just going to keep killing and destroying until nothing is left._ " Anger fades to despair when I think back to my last fight. How strong Frisk was. How their wounds never seemed to affect them. How they managed to defeat me with what seemed like little effort on their part. " _But am I strong enough to beat them? If I could use my determination, maybe I would be..._ "

My determination. Why didn't it help me like it did before? The little strength it gave me during that last battle was nothing compared to how powerful I had been on that fateful day in Waterfall. " _What was different? Aren't the stakes just as high now?_ " I wonder. All of the sudden, I feel Frisk's influence increase--they're trying to take control again. Their voice fills my mind, whispering. I try my hardest to block out the sound and fend off the attack.

After a minute or so, the whispers fade to a faint buzzing, and the human seems to back off for now. " _I'm not going to be able to beat them. They're getting even stronger than before,_ " I realize. I can barely keep them at bay now. " _There has to be something else I can do. There has to be..._ "

I pace back and forth across the field, kicking at the marshy soil. Thoughts churn in my mind as I try to think of a way to get myself out of this. By now, Asgore has probably been notified that Alphys was attacked. There's no way I can go back now, I'll be captured as soon as someone sees me. Either that or Frisk will use me to hurt someone else.

It doesn't seem like there's any way that I can stop Frisk. Unless... " _Maybe I can't defeat them, but maybe I can stop them in a different way,_ " I think. Frisk wants to use me to kill the other monsters. If I run away, as far away as possible, maybe I can find a place where I would be completely alone. Frisk can't force me to hurt anyone if there's no one around to hurt. And if that doesn't work... Well, I've sacrificed myself once, and I'll do it again if I have to. " _But only if I have no other choice,_ " I tell myself.

A sort of numbness settles over me. If I really do run away now, it'll most likely mean spending the rest of my life in complete isolation. But what choice do I have? When I was appointed Captain of the Royal Guard, I swore an oath to protect my people, no matter the cost to myself. I'm not going back on that promise now.

I glance around the little meadow, observing the echo flowers. There's something I should do before I leave. I can't risk finding anyone to tell about what's happening to me, but I want there to be some record of the truth.

I walk over to one of the nearby blossoms and crouch down beside it. Taking a deep breath, I begin to speak. "My name is Undyne. I'm the Captain of the Royal Guard. I was the one who killed the human that was trying to destroy us, and now I'm the one responsible for their return. The human killed me when I first fought them, but I was temporarily brought back to life by another human named Chara. After I killed the human, I took their soul to stay alive. It turns out that, because I did that, they can control me now. They've already used me to hurt Alphys, the Royal Scientist. I'm going to find a place to hide so the human can't use me to hurt anyone else, so _don't_ go looking for me. But please go to King Asgore and tell him about this message and what happened to me. Tell everyone that I'm sorry."

Almost immediately, the plant begins to repeat my words. If anyone comes to this place, they'll at least have an idea of what's happened to me. They'll know that I never wanted anyone to get hurt.

I stand, turning towards the entrance of the chamber. " _Now where am I going to go?_ " I comb through my memories, trying to think of some place I can hide. Faintly, I recall a sentry report that Sans gave me once. He talked about a giant, sealed door that lies deep in Snowdin Forest. He said that it seemed abandoned, although the look on his face suggested otherwise. Still, the human came from that direction, so there probably won't be many monsters. And it's pretty far from the capital and most of the major population centers. " _Sounds like the best place I can go right now,_ " I think.

I move to the mouth of the cave, then stop. I take a moment to think about the life I'm leaving behind. My career, my kingdom, my friends... Alphys. The future we might have had together. I take a deep breath and bite my lip, trying to get a hold of myself. If I can keep everyone safe, this will be worth it.

I step out into the tunnels, looking this way and that for signs of other monsters. Nobody seems to be around, so I start making my way towards Snowdin. It's time to stop Frisk, one way or another.


	12. On Our Own (Alphys)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even when all hope seems lost, sometimes you just have to take a stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was definitely one of my favorite Alphys moments to write.

Asgore, the Royal Guard, and I are gathered around a large wooden table in the council room in New Home. Everyone's eyes are on me. I tap my claws against the stone floor and gulp. Asgore clears his throat and asks, "Did Sans tell you when he would be arriving?"

"N-no. He j-just said that he had s-something he needed to do," I answer, remembering how the skeleton dropped me off in front of the palace and then immediately disappeared behind a corner, saying that he had business to attend to but would be back for the meeting.

"Very well. I suppose we must start, then," Asgore says, sighing. He turns to the rest of the monsters and continues, "I have brought you all here because of an incident that happened concerning Undyne. Dr. Alphys was in Waterfall when... Undyne attacked her."

The Royal Guards look around at each other, whispering frantically. Asgore raises a hand and they all quiet down. The king looks to me. "Alphys, I am so sorry to make you do this, but I need you to explain what happened again."

I wince and nod. "I-I hadn't heard from U-Undyne in a while, so I decided to c-call her. She d-didn't answer my calls o-or reply to my messages, s-so I looked for her on my c-cameras. I-I saw that she was in W-Waterfall, so I went there to s-see if she was o-okay," I explain, my voice quivering. "W-When I g-got there... s-she a-attacked me." I gesture to my bandaged shoulder.

Asgore starts to speak, but I cut him off. "B-but I don't think it was her f-fault! She w-wasn't acting like herself a-at all!" I shout.

"Alphys, you must look at the facts," he says.

"Undyne w-wouldn't d-do this! Ever!"

"Are ya sure about that?" Sans asks, stepping forwards. The whole room looks over at him, startled by his sudden appearance. Nobody saw the skeleton come into the room during or before the conversation.

"W-what do you mean?" I ask.

"What I'm sayin' is are you sure Undyne didn't just snap from all the stress or somethin'?" Sans explains.

"She has been through a lot in a very short time," Asgore says, his tone even and guarded. "More than anyone should have to endure."

I curl and uncurl my claws nervously. I have got to convince everyone that Undyne is innocent. I look back and forth between all the monsters, my voice rising in pitch as I say, "Look, U-Undyne told me yesterday that she's been having n-nightmares. A-and that something's b-been t-talking to her and she said t-that it feels like something h-has been trying to a-attack her. I think t-this has s-something to do with her absorbing the h-human's soul. I've been doing r-research!"

I can see a faint spark of hope in Asgore's eyes, despite his obvious attempts to hide it. "Do you have any proof?" he asks.

I freeze. Do I have any proof? I know in my heart that I'm right, but how can I show that? I wrack my brain feverishly, trying to think of something-- _anything_ \--I can use to prove Undyne's innocence. But all I have is circumstantial evidence and my own intuition, nothing concrete. I hang my head and give my answer. "N-no. B-but Asgore, t-think about it! Doesn't the soul a-affecting Undyne make more sense t-than her a-attacking me randomly...?"

The king sighs. "Alphys... I want to believe you, I really do. But if you have no proof, then I have to assume that Undyne tried to kill you," he says. His eyes are glistening, reflecting the lights in the room.

I open my mouth to protest, but Asgore has already turned to the Royal Guard and is giving them their instructions. "You are to spread out across the Underground in teams of two to find Undyne. Knight Knight, Pyrope, you will search Hotland. Moldbygg, Temmie, you will go to Waterfall. Final Froggit and Whimsalot, head to Snowdin."

The soldiers nod. Most of them look like they're feeling conflicted, or scared. Or both. Asgore continues, "All of you will have to be very, very careful. Undyne is extraordinarily powerful and extremely dangerous. She is also very familiar with the topography of the Underground, so it will not be hard for her to hide or to ambush you. If you find any sign of her, alert the others and myself immediately. Do not try to fight her alone." His voice wavers. "And please... bring her back alive. You may go now."

The monsters stand to leave. "A-Asgore, PLEASE! You c-can't d-do t-this!" I cry in a last-ditch attempt to get the king to change his mind. "You've k-known Undyne s-since she was a k-kid, y-you _trained_ her! You k-know that she w-wouldn't h-hurt me!"

Asgore has bowed his head, Sans is watching me with a deadpan expression, and a few of the Guards are giving me pitying looks. " _They all think I'm lying. Lying, or crazy, or dumb or_ something _!_ "

My mind explodes with anger. I jump to my feet and shout, "WHY DOESN'T ANYONE BELIEVE ME? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE BELIEVE IN UNDYNE?! SHE SACRIFICED HERSELF TO TRY TO SAVE US, AND NOW YOU ALL THINK SHE'S TURNING INTO A MURDERER! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GIVE HER THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT?! SHE NEEDS US TO HELP HER!"

The whole group is shocked into silence. I stand there, trembling with fury and glaring at everyone who is staring at me. After several seconds, Asgore, who looks to be on the verge of tears, says, "I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do." He turns to his soldiers and continues, "You are dismissed. I wish you all the best of luck."

The monsters stand up, salute their king, and quickly exit the room. As soon as they're gone, Asgore buries his head in his hands. I can hear him sobbing quietly. He looks up at me, tears dripping down his cheeks. "Alphys, I know that Undyne loves you far too much to ever hurt you. But if you are unable to prove her innocence in this matter, then I must have her captured. I have to think of the safety of my people," he says, getting to his feet and placing his hand on my uninjured shoulder.

"Go home, Alphys. Get some rest. I will call you as soon as I have any updates on Undyne's whereabouts," he tells me.

Looking down and choking back tears of my own, I say, "O-okay. I'll g-go."

Asgore nods. "Good." He waits for a second before patting my back and walking off.

I start making my way out of the council room. I may be heading back to my lab, but I have no intention of just idling by when I'm the only one who knows enough about what's going on to be of any help to Undyne. " _She's always been there for me when I needed her,_ " I think. " _Now I've got to be there for her._ " I take a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"Hey, Alphys, hang on a second," Sans says.

I look at him over my shoulder. "Sans, j-just leave me alone. I-I'm going home."

"You're gonna try and find a way to help her, aren't ya?"

I turn to face Sans. "W-why do you care?" I ask. "You don't even b-believe me."

"I didn't say that," Sans says.

I give him a puzzled look, and he continues, "If the human really is affecting Undyne, then we gotta figure out how to stop 'em. Ya said you were doin' research on the soul?"

"Y-yeah. I h-haven't found anything that seems h-helpful, though. B-but maybe there's something I m-missed?"

"Well, let's get goin'. All the stuff's at your lab, right?" Sans asks.

I nod at the skeleton.

Sans starts walking towards the door. I follow quickly behind him, anxious to look for a solution to Undyne's problem. " _Maybe we really will find something that can help._ " I hope with all my heart that we do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asgore has been added to the list of people who need hugs, poor goat dad got stuck between a rock and a hard place.


	13. Ruined (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Undyne travels to a place where she hopes nobody will find her.

Snow crunches beneath my boots as I sneak through Snowdin Forest. A chilly wind whispers through the pine trees, making me shiver. " _That door can't be too far away now. I'm almost at the end of the forest!_ " I think. " _At least the trip here wasn't too hard._ " There were few monsters out and about in Waterfall, and I was able to get by them without trouble. Snowdin Town, on the other hand, was tricky. People were standing in the streets, talking and even laughing. I had to skirt around the edges of the settlement to avoid attracting attention.

My head begins to throb as Frisk tries to regain their control. I stop, close my eye, and concentrate on fending them off. These attacks have been happening frequently enough that I've learned what I need to do to counter them.

After several moments, the headache disappears. I keep moving, a new urgency in my stride. Frisk has gotten even stronger every time this has happened. " _Where is that door?!_ "

A couple of minutes later, I have my answer. I cross over a small bridge and see a huge, purple door embedded in the cliff face in front of me. I walk until I'm a few yards away, then stop, looking up at the structure. The gateway is flanked by a pair of columns, and there is an arch emblazoned with a Delta Rune perched on top of them. Now that I'm closer to the door, I can see that it's not built into a cliff, but into an ancient stone wall. " _This must be the place._ "

I step up to the gate and give it a push. Nothing happens. I ram my shoulder into the door. It still doesn't move. " _Hmm... Maybe I can pry it open?_ " I think as I inspect the crevice between the two halves of the gate.

I summon my spear--resisting another of Frisk's attacks as I do--and wedge the tip into the crack in the door. I shove the weapon with all of my strength. There is the sound of stone scraping against stone as the door opens. Stepping back, I stare into the dimly lit hall beyond the entryway. I walk inside, stopping after a few paces. I turn around and pull on the door, closing it. I must have somehow damaged the door when I was opening it, though, because it refuses to shut all of the way. So, I leave the gate slightly ajar and continue onwards.

My eye adjusts to the darkness almost immediately--growing up in a place as dark as Waterfall has given me very good night vision--and soon I can see that there is another door at the end of the hallway. I begin making my way towards it.

I reach the second door, push it open, and step through, entering another hallway. I decide to follow it. After all, it's not like I can go back to the rest of the Underground. I walk down the hallway until I reach another door and go through that, too.

The moment I enter the next chamber I see a pile of dust lying right in front of the door, as if the monster died trying to block the exit. A wave of emotions washes over me--satisfaction and profound sorrow. After taking a moment to get the feelings under control, I keep going, eventually climbing up a flight of stairs.

Unexpectedly, I emerge into what appears to be the front room of a small house. The walls and wooden flooring are a warm, soothing beige. There are bookcases and a potted plant in the corners, and colorful paintings decorate the walls. The faint, fading smell of cinnamon and butterscotch hangs in the air. " _This place seems so familiar..._ "

I turn to the left, having noticed a small archway that leads to another room. I head through it and am greeted by a little sitting room with a fireplace, a comfy-looking reading chair, another bookshelf, and a dining table with three chairs around it. Now I realize why the house looks familiar. It's almost an exact replica of Asgore's house back in New Home. I remember something, something that Asgore told me long ago. How he, his wife, and son used to have a cottage in the city of Home--the original capital of the Underground. " _Is that where I am?_ " I wonder.

My heart sinks. " _If this is Asgore's old house... could that dead monster near the entrance be Queen Toriel?_ " I recall how she went missing many, many years ago. Toriel and Asgore fought about Asgore's declaration of war on humanity, and Toriel left him. " _She must have been living here, and tried to stop the human from reaching the rest of the Underground. I wish I could tell Asgore what happened to her..._ "

I walk back into the other room and see a door bordered by two small windows to my right. I go through it and enter a small yard. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all made of lavender-colored stone. I keep moving forward, crunching through a pile of red leaves beneath a dead tree before coming to another intersection. I stand there for several seconds before deciding to go right.

The path takes me through several areas with elaborate puzzles--rooms that seem to swivel around, patches of stone that crumble under my feet, and even a maze of razor-sharp spikes. Those were not exactly fun to get through. I see so many piles of dust along the way that I start to lose count of how many there are.

After a long time of walking, I pass through an ancient-looking archway and into a small chamber. Stepping over a patch of grass, I head through a second arch and into another area.

Now I'm standing in a long, narrow corridor of grey stone. The chamber ahead is filled with a dim, milky light, and a plot of golden flowers lies in the center. I walk to the end of the hall, and a gentle gust of wind whispers past me. It's strange, but the air here seems fresher, more wild, than it is in the rest of the Underground. And the breeze seems to be coming from above me.

I look up. Far, far overhead is something that I wasn't sure I'd ever see. Glowing specks like miniature diamonds glitter on a carpet of ink-colored darkness, with a sliver of silver nestled in between them. I am looking at the night sky. I am seeing the stars and the moon, something my people haven't been able to do for generations.

"Pretty, huh?"

I whirl around, startled by the voice. Even more startling is the fact that the thing that spoke to me isn't a monster, but a golden flower. It cackles, then says, "Howdy, Undyne! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, here we go with the crazy flower (who’s actually pretty fun to write).


	14. An Unexpected Ally (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Flowey and Undyne process some new revelations, Chara helps them come up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning, this chapter gets pretty dark.

A flood of emotions wash over me. Betrayal. Regret. Malice. Worry. They're so tangled up that I can barely sort them out. The strongest feelings--those of anger--seem to be coming from Frisk. They want to wipe this flower off the face of the Underground. The emotions that I assume are coming from Chara are gentler, but filled with sadness. I press a hand to my forehead and try to get the emotions under control.

The flower is watching me curiously. "Golly, you really _are_ struggling!"

"What do you want with me?"

"Why, I'm here to help you!" Flowey says with a smile.

"Why should I trust you?" I growl at the creature. Something seems very, very off about him.

Flowey's face suddenly contorts. His eyes grow dark and wide, and needle-like fangs sprout from his jaws. The flower leans close and screeches, "Because if you don't, EVERYONE you love will DIE!" His face begins to shift again. "Asgore will die, and Sans will die, and Alphys will die!" he cries, mimicking their voices and appearances as he recites their names.

Something takes hold of me, controlling me. "Asriel, stop this! She has been through enough!" I shout. "If you are going to help us, then you had better get serious about it!"

Flowey recoils, his face reverting to normal. I'm not even sure what just happened. " _Who was that? Frisk wouldn't try to help me._ "

Whoever is controlling me speaks again. "My apologies, Undyne. I owe you an explanation," they say. "And you don't need to worry. It's me, Chara. I am able to use my power to speak through you."

The first fallen human relinquishes their control. It feels strange having someone else talk in my voice. But I shake the feeling off and, after a few seconds of thought, ask, "But how are you doing this? I thought that you weren't strong enough to do anything to me?"

"I wasn't. But this place... I have a strong connection to it." Chara turns my head, making me look towards the patch of golden flowers.

"This is where I'm buried. My power is a bit stronger here."

"Chara... it's really you?" I hear Flowey ask.

Chara has me look back over at him. "Yes, Asriel. You seem to have finally figured out that the human who fell wasn't me."

"I thought they were you... I wanted to believe that you came back like me," Flowey explains in a plaintive tone. "How _are_ you here, Chara?"

"I am bound to the other human's soul. When they--Frisk--fell, they landed on my grave. And their determination is what allowed me to be like this," Chara explains.

"Chara, why do keep calling him Asriel?" I interrupt. "Asriel was killed years ago."

"Yes, he was. But as you know, death can be undone," they say. "At a cost."

Shock hits me like bullet as I realize that Chara means that the flower in front of me must really be Asriel, the monster prince. " _He's alive. Prince Asriel is_ alive _!_ "

Flowey must have noticed my expression change, because he says, "You think that I'm still 'me', don't you? You think I'm still that sweet little prince you've heard stories about." He laughs wildly. "Even after how I just acted? Well, have I got news for you! Asriel died a long time ago. I'm Flowey, now."

I look at Flowey's face--his wicked grin and the gleam in his eyes. He isn't anything like how Asgore described his son. I'd hoped that, even with Flowey's behavior, a part of Asriel still remained. Maybe then there could have been a true heir to the throne. Maybe then Asgore could have found some peace.

"I'm afraid that the Asriel I once knew is indeed gone. While his memories are still intact, all of his compassion is lost. When Asriel was resurrected, he came back without his soul," Chara explains.

"But how did he get revived? I mean, until now, I thought I was the only monster to have ever come back from the dead, and that was only because of your help."

"I'm right here, you know!" Flowey snaps.

I glare at him, then ask Chara, "He must have had help, right? So who brought him back? And why did I come back with my soul at least kinda intact while Asriel lost his?"

I can sense Chara's discomfort. "Chara, who was it?" I ask.

They give no answer. I start to get a bad feeling about this, which almost makes me want to know what happened even more. " _Flowey would know who brought him back, wouldn't he?_ "

I look into the former prince's eyes and ask, "Flowey, who made you like this?"

A sly smile creeps across his face. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

"It was your sweet little girlfriend!" he says, his tone bitingly sarcastic. "Alphys turned me into this."

Thoughts swirl through my mind. " _Alphys did say that she had been experimenting on golden flowers around the time she made the amalgamates. Something must have gone wrong with that experiment, too,_ " I think, feeling a pang of grief for how much Alphys has gone through. " _No wonder she never told anyone. Especially since it was Asriel, of all monsters._ "

The flower watches me interestedly, expectantly. "Huh. You don't seem upset, or angry. You must really love her," he remarks after a moment. Then a grin splits his face, and he howls with laughter. "Oh, it will be _so_ entertaining to see how you react when Frisk makes you MURDER HER!"

I'm about to go over and strangle that flower, but Chara's influence holds me back. "And we won't let that happen, will we, Asriel?" they say. Their words are laced with anger--they're growing impatient with their old friend. "You know what will happen if Frisk gains control. They will kill you, too."

The flower says nothing. Chara continues, "You know that there will be no going back this time. If Frisk kills you, you will _stay_ dead."

Flowey snarls, "Fine! I'll help. But only because I don't want to die."

"Good," Chara says. "Now, Undyne, I think that it would be best if we contact someone you trust, someone who would be willing to help us find a way to defeat Frisk once and for all."

"What if Frisk takes over again? What if I can't stop them from hurting whoever shows up?"

"We have no choice. Neither Asriel nor I know how to stop Frisk now that you've absorbed their soul. We only know that it's possible to resist their influence," they explain.

"But if you and Flowey don't know anything, then how is anyone else supposed to help?!"

"The fact that Asriel and I don't know what to do is exactly why we have to find someone to assist us. We need someone who's skilled enough at research to help us find the cause of and cure for what Frisk is doing to you. We need Alphys's help."

An image of Alphys, blood running down her arm, flashes in front of my eye. Her scream echoes through my mind. "No, we are leaving Alphys out of this! She's been hurt enough, and Frisk still wants her dead! And why would she trust me after... after what happened..." I rest my head in my hands. "I can't let her get hurt again."

"Undyne, this is the only way," Chara says gently. "Can you think of any other monster that could get to the bottom of this mess?"

I fall silent. They're right--Alphys is the smartest monster I know. And if Chara, Flowey, and I can't figure this out on our own, then she'll die anyway. This is a risk I have to take, no matter how much it scares me. " _But I won't let her get hurt, no matter what I have to do to protect her,_ " I think. "Alright, but I'm not leaving this place. I can't risk losing control in an area with a lot of people."

"And I'm pretty sure I saw your precious Royal Guards leaving the castle. They're probably trying to hunt you down right now!" Flowey adds.

"Agreed, it's too dangerous for you to leave," Chara says. "Asriel, will you be able to find Alphys for us?"

The plant monster's eyes gleam. "Sure I can!"

"And Asriel... please don't make things too difficult for her."

Flowey looks into my eye. "Well, I guess I'll see you later!" he says with a wink. Before I can even open my mouth to speak, the flower disappears into the ground. Once again, I am alone with the fallen humans.

I stand in silence for several seconds. Eventually, Chara asks, "How are you holding up? I know that Frisk's attacks have been getting quite intense."

"I'm doing fine, I think. Just tired. At least Frisk hasn't tried to take control for a while now," I reply. " _Wait a minute... Frisk really hasn't attacked in a long time. They haven't done_ anything _for a long time. Why are they being so calm?_ "

I feel a brief flash of panic from Chara before their presence is snuffed out like an ember in a rainstorm. A split second later, my mind explodes with noise. Shouting, screaming, warped and nightmarish voices, all merging together and drowning each other out. They're so loud that they make my head hurt. The cavern walls seem to tilt and spin around me.

"In a way, I almost pity you. You try so hard to protect the ones you love, yet you are doomed to fail eventually," I say. Or rather, Frisk says. I try to keep my mouth closed, to resist Frisk's control, but I just can't focus.

Frisk keeps talking. "When Alphys arrives, as I'm sure she will, I will make you kill her. I will make you listen as she pleads for mercy. I will make you watch as the life drains from her eyes, just as you did when you killed me," they continue. "And when she is dead, you will be so broken that you will be able to do _nothing_ as I erase the rest of your pathetic kind from existence."

"I... won't... let you..." I manage to say. "No matter... what I have to do..."

The voices in my head grow louder, more violent. I start to lose my balance and, before I know it, I'm down on my hands and knees. I can barely keep Frisk from making me walk right out of this room and in the direction of the nearest monster.

I'm losing this fight, and I know it. I summon my spear and look down at it. One well-placed stab is all it would take to kill me, and, in doing so, hopefully finish Frisk off for good. " _There might not be any other options at this point,_ " I think with a mixture of regret and resignation. I lift up the weapon, telling myself, " _It's going to be okay. Everyone will be safe. Asgore and Sans and Alphys will be safe._ " I close my eye and prepare to drive the spear into my chest. " _Just one quick strike..._ "

My hand slams into the ground, scraping my knuckles. My spear flickers in and out of existence before fading entirely. "Oh no you don't. I'm afraid that you have to stay alive for a good, long while," Frisk says. "After all, we have a job to do."

I channel every last scrap of strength I have into staying at least somewhat in control. " _Chara, you better have been right about Alphys being able to stop this..._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it entertaining to think about how, to someone who doesn’t know what’s going on, half of the dialogue in this chapter would look like Undyne was just talking to herself. It helps balance out the feels.


	15. No Time to Lose (Alphys)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphys and Sans struggle to find a solution to Undyne’s problem, and Flowey delivers a message.

I flip frantically through a stack of papers before slamming them down on the desk and covering my face with my hands, digging my claws into my skull. "T-there's n-nothing, Sans! N-nothing!"

Sans puts down his clipboard and pencil and walks up to me. "Did ya look through everything?" he asks.

"Y-yes. And there's p-probably s-something that w-we could u-use, b-but we just don't have the t-time to f-figure anything out!" I shout.

The skeleton picks up my pile of notes and looks through them, mumbling, "Gotta be somethin' useful..."

I hear a faint clicking sound coming from behind me. Curious, I turn around and see that some of the floor tiles are rattling. I walk over and crouch down in front of them.

"What's goin' on, Alphys?" I hear Sans inquire.

"I-I don't know. The f-floor is--"

A bunch of tiles fly to the sides, and a little golden flower pops out of the ground. I jump back with a startled cry, falling and landing on my tail. "F-Flowey?!"

"Yep! It's little old me!" he responds.

I hear a Gaster Blaster appear behind me, charged and ready to fire. "A talking flower...?"

Flowey stretches out, looking behind me. "Howdy, Sans!"

Sans grabs my arm and twists me around to face him. "You know this... thing?" he asks, his gaze never leaving the golden flower.

"Y-yes. His n-name is Flowey."

"Oh, Alphys and I go _way_ back!" Flowey says. "In fact, you could say she's the reason I am who I am!"

Sans looks at me suspiciously and says, "You got somethin' you wanna tell me?"

"W-when I was doing my e-experiments, I-I injected determination into v-various objects to see if I could create a v-vessel for monster souls. One of the t-things I t-tried was a golden flower from Asgore's garden. The f-first one that grew," I explain. "I t-thought it d-didn't work, so I gave it back to him. A-and it... w-woke up."

"How? Flowers don't have souls."

"No. B-but this one had m-monster d-dust. Prince Asriel's dust. Flowey is his r-reincarnation," I say, hanging my head.

There is silence for a few seconds. I turn to face Flowey, looking him in the eyes. "W-why are y-you here?" My voice is shaking. I've barely seen Flowey since his creation, and the only times he's "visited" me are when he's shown up to torment me with reminders of all my mistakes. Whatever his reason for being here is, I doubt it's a good one.

"Believe it or not, I'm here to help," Flowey says.

"W-why would you help us? I t-thought you didn't c-care what happened to anyone."

"I _don't_ care. I'm only here because _I_ don't want to die."

"O-okay... But _h-how_ can you help us? D-do you e-even know what's going on?" I ask. At this point, I'm desperate enough to accept anyone's assistance--even Flowey's.

"Well, I've been following Undyne around for the past few days," he explains. "And I just so happen to know where she's hiding."

"D-does anyone else k-know?" I ask. " _If none of the Royal Guards know where Undyne is, and I can get Flowey to tell me, then I can get her back to the lab!_ "

Flowey laughs a high-pitched, manic laugh. "Are you _sure_ you want me to tell you? I don't think you'll be happy with what you find."

"T-tell me w-where s-she is!"

A trio of vines burst out of the ground, wrapping around my wrists and neck, choking me. Flowey leans in close, his face just inches from mine. His features twist and warp until his mouth is full of sharp teeth, his eyes having grown huge and begun glowing menacingly. He says in a low hiss, "The human's soul has almost complete control over Undyne now. I don't think she's gonna be able to hold on much longer. By the time you get to her, there might be nothing left to save!"

Bones slam into the flower. Flowey shrinks back, his face returning to normal. The vines retract into the ground. I gasp for air and rub my now-sore neck. "You okay, Alphys?" Sans asks, kneeling down beside me.

"Y-yeah, I-I t-think so."

Flowey snarls at the skeleton. "What was that for? It's not like I was gonna hurt her _much_."

"Ya shouldn't be hurting her _at all_."

"F-Flowey, p-please just tell me where Undyne is."

He tilts his head and says, "Wow. You're not acting like a complete coward anymore. I'm impressed!"

I am so sick of this flower and all of his nonsense. Sparks of electricity shoot from my fingertips and zip towards him. They strike several of his petals, singeing them. He yelps in pain. "You said you were here to help, so start helping! _Tell me where Undyne is!_ " I shout at him.

Flowey looks down at the floor, seemingly subdued, and says, "She's in a place called the Ruins. There's a big door in Snowdin Forest, you can get to it through there. Undyne's in the last cavern--just keep following the tunnels until you get to her."

"I could get ya there with a shortcut," Sans offers.

"N-no, you should stay here," I reply. "K-keep researching, a-and see if you can find a way to neutralize the human's power for when Undyne and I get back. We m-might not have much time."

Sans thinks for several seconds. "Okay," he finally says. "But if somethin' goes wrong, call me and I'll... take care of it."

The skeleton's statement chills me to my core. If Undyne is too far gone, Sans would have the best chance of stopping her. And if the human is control... there would only be one way to stop them. "It w-won't come to t-that, Sans. I-I'll get her back here, a-and we'll fix this."

I look back to Flowey. "Do y-you know how we can help Undyne? When you were Asriel, y-you absorbed the first fallen human's s-soul. D-did they have the same control o-over you?"

"Yes, they did, and there wasn't any way I could get rid of it. All I could do was resist, and I think this human is a lot stronger than Chara was," Flowey answers. "I'm not sure how much longer Undyne will be able to keep fighting them." A curious expression crosses his face, and he continues, "Although she seems to get stronger when she thinks of you... That could be helpful."

" _Love makes a monster stronger..._ " I think, feeling a tiny spot of happiness beneath all of my sorrow.

I start walking towards the elevator that leads out of my basement, calling over my shoulder, "I-I'm going to the Ruins. Call me if you find anything, Sans."

"Okay. Good luck, Alphys," I hear him say.

Just as the elevator door closes, I see Sans turn to Flowey and say in a dangerous voice, "Now, I've got a couple questions for you, buddy."


	16. A Fight in the Starlight (Alphys)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Which is stronger, love or LOVE?

Snowdin Forest is windy tonight. I wrap my thin jacket tighter around myself, trying in vain to ward off the cold. Jagged shadows snake their way across the ground, and the trees creak and groan eerily as they sway back and forth. A snowflake drifts down and lands on my head. Luckily, I can see the door to the Ruins in the distance. I walk faster.

It doesn't take me long to reach the huge purple gateway. At first, I'm not sure how I'll get in--there's no way I'm strong enough to move those gigantic slabs of stone--but then I see that the door is open slightly. Upon closer inspection, I notice some scratch marks along the edges of the two halves of the gate, like someone pried it open.

I manage to squeeze through the door and find myself in an ancient hallway. I take a couple of steps forward, then freeze. I don't think I realized exactly how dangerous this situation is or how dire the consequences could be until now. I dig my claws into the rough stone floor and take a deep breath, telling myself, " _I have to do this. I have to save Undyne._ "

I take a step into the darkened corridor. Then a second step. And a third. " _I can do this,_ " I repeat in my mind. " _I can do this. I can do this. I can do this._ " I start making my way into the Ruins.

There are piles and piles of dust strewn all about the old city. It looks like this place was the home of a thriving community before everyone was wiped out, most likely by the human. There are a bunch of puzzles, too. Luckily, I'm able to solve them without much difficulty.

It takes me quite a while, but I finally manage to make it to what appears to be almost the end of the Ruins. I've entered a chamber composed entirely of dull grey stone, except for a small patch of grass in the middle. There's no sign of Undyne, but I can see an archway that looks like it leads to another tunnel. She could be in there.

I've just started walking towards the arch when Flowey pops out of the ground in front of me. After a brief moment of surprise, I ask,

"Flowey, w-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just came to see if you were gonna try to run away from your problems again. You know, like you did with the amalgamates?" he replies with a smug grin.

His words cut right to my soul. I _have_ been thinking about turning back. I've had to wrestle with my fears every step of the way. But I've kept going because I know that this is something I need to do. So I say, "N-no, Flowey, I-I'm not gonna run away this time. Undyne has always been there when I needed her. N-now she needs me. I won't let her down."

He looks at me for a moment before responding. "Alright," he says, tilting his head in the direction of the tunnel. "She's in there." He retreats back into the dirt.

I walk through the archway and the small tunnel behind it, entering the final chamber. It's quite dark in here, with only a little bit of strange, pale light coming from above. Curious about where this light is coming from, I look up.

And I see the sky.

I stare at it, transfixed. And then a voice that I recognize instantly calls out my name. "Alphys?"

I turn towards the sound. Sitting in the shadows, leaning against the wall, is Undyne. My heart leaps, and I start to rush over to her. "U-Undyne, are you o-okay?!"

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" she shouts. I stop in my tracks. She continues, "Alphys, you have to get out of here, you have to leave!"

"Undyne, i-it's okay. I-I know what's going on, I k-know what the human is d-doing to you," I explain, taking a couple of steps towards her.

For a second, she looks relieved. But only for a second. "You're still in danger! Frisk will still kill you!"

"F-Frisk? You mean the human?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter right now. You need to get out of here, Alphys!" Undyne looks into my eyes and continues in a quieter voice, "Please, _please_ leave. It's the only way you'll be safe."

Now that I'm closer to her, I'm able to see the dread filling her eye, hear the panic in her voice. Undyne looks truly afraid. I slowly walk up to her, reaching out to hold her hand. "I-it's going to be okay," I whisper soothingly. "We'll go back to my lab, w-we can fix this."

Suddenly, Undyne grabs my wrist and squeezes it so hard it hurts. She grins maliciously. "I'm afraid that you're a little too late, Alphys. Undyne is growing weaker by the second, and very soon she won't be able to resist me anymore. And when that happens, I will make her end your life," she says.

Undyne closes her eye and winces, gritting her teeth. She lets go of my arm. A split second later, her eye snaps open and she gasps for breath before pressing herself even closer to the wall. "Do you see what I mean, Alphy? Do you see why you need to leave _right now_? I... I can't protect you anymore. I'm a danger to you." She sounds even more tired than before.

I kneel down beside her. "I-I can still save you! Sans and I have b-been doing r-research! If you come back to the l-lab with me, w-we can find some way to n-neutralize Frisk's influence! Y-you just have to k-keep fighting!" I tell her.

She gives me a smile--a sweet, sad smile. "Thank you, Alphy. Thank you so, so much. But I have to stay here. Frisk was right, they'll be able to take full control soon. And if I'm in a populated area when that happens then so many people will die."

"Undyne, p-please don't m-make me just _l-leave_ you h-here like t-this," I plead, fighting back tears.

"You have to," she says. "I don't like this any more than you do, but you have to go. If you find some way to stop Frisk, then you can come back, okay?"

I don't respond. A stern look crosses Undyne's face. "Alphys, you need to leave. You need to leave right now and promise me that you won't come back unless you've found a way to stop Frisk."

A tear runs down my cheek. "I-I p-promise..."

"Good. Now you have to get out of here," she instructs me. "I can't resist Frisk much longer."

I stand up and take a couple of steps back, reluctant to leave. "Go!" Undyne shouts. After a few moments, I turn and walk away.

I've only gone about halfway across the room when I hear a sentence that chills me to the bone. "You won't be leaving here, Alphys."

I look over my shoulder. Undyne has gotten to her feet and is slowly walking towards me. But I have a terrible feeling that she isn't the one who's talking to me anymore.

Frisk is in control.

I start backing away. Undyne laughs and summons her spear. She looks down at it, saying, "I think it's time I try out my new weapons, don't you?" Several more spears appear over her head. She grins.

The spears shoot towards me. I dive out of the way, the projectiles sailing over my head. Luckily, Frisk doesn't seem to have quite as good of an aim as Undyne does.

I scramble to my feet. "P-Please d-don't d-do this," I stammer.

"Pleading with me won't help you, Alphys. And Undyne is too weak to do anything."

She charges at me, stabbing with her spear. I dart to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. Bolts of electricity crackle to life in my hands, wrapping around my fingers. Undyne just chuckles. "Threatening me won't work either. We both know that I am fully capable of destroying you."

" _Frisk is right. They'll kill me in seconds if I don't do something!_ " I think. As if to prove my point, an energy spear crashes into me. I cry out in pain and stumble backwards, feeling blood drip from a wound on my torso.

For the briefest moment, something changes. I see a flash of guilt and horror in Undyne's eye, but it's quickly replaced by Frisk's icy glare. " _She's still there! She can still hear me!_ " I realize. " _There's still a chance!_ "

More spears come flying towards me. I stand my ground and summon more lightning bolts, willing them to form a makeshift shield in front of me. "Undyne, I-I know you can hear me! I-I need you t-to k-keep resisting Frisk! Y-you can't let them control you!" I shout.

A microsecond before the spears hit me, they slow down ever so slightly--just barely enough to stop the attack from breaking my shield.

"Don't think that this means that you can beat me," Undyne says. "I am so much stronger than a worthless monster like you could ever hope to be."

The little bit of confidence I have starts to waver. So does my shield. Undyne gives a cruel grin and continues, "That's right, you pathetic scientist. You. Are. _Worthless_. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if nobody truly cares about you at all."

Just hearing my deepest fears put in words is bad enough, but hearing them spoken in Undyne's voice makes the experience so much worse. " _It's not her saying that. Undyne wouldn't say that to me. I need to remember that,_ " I tell myself. "Y-you're wrong, Frisk. Undyne l-loves me, a-and Sans and Asgore are my f-friends. T-they care about me and I care about them! I won't let you hurt them, o-or anyone else!"

Twin orbs of lightning appear in my hands. I don't want to risk hurting Undyne, but I have to distract Frisk somehow. I send the electric projectiles flying. They crash into my opponent, leaving faint burns wherever they make contact. She jumps back, shocked both literally and figuratively. I guess Frisk didn't expect me to attack.

Undyne pauses for a second, shaking her head as if to clear it. She looks back up at me, snarling, and swipes at me with her spear.

All of the sudden, it feels like my feet have been glued to the floor. I look down and see a faint green glow over my heart. Frisk must have figured out how to use Undyne's ability to manipulate souls and immobilized me with it.

A huge cluster of energy spears materialize in the air. I barely have enough time to summon an electricity shield before they make impact. The shield holds, at least at first. As spear after spear crashes into it, my shield starts to break apart. After a few more seconds, it shatters completely. I turn to the side in a vain attempt to avoid most of the damage, but it's no use. The projectiles pierce my side. I scream. The wounds don't feel fatal, but a burning, stinging, stabbing pain radiates throughout my body. My legs fail, and I find myself on the ground.

Through tear-filled vision, I see Undyne marching towards me, calm and confident. " _I'm going to die. Frisk is going to kill me. I'm going to die,_ " I realize. Preparing for the worst, I squeeze my eyes shut. But nothing happens. After a few seconds, I crack one eye open.

Undyne has stopped a few feet away from me, grimacing. Her spear fades from her hand. She begins to shout at herself. "Why do you even bother resisting? You don't stand a chance against me!"

"I won't let you kill her!"

"You don't have a choice!"

"Yes I do!"

"Just give up!"

"NO! I WILL NEVER GIVE UP! I WON'T REST UNTIL YOU ARE GONE FOR GOOD, _NO MATTER WHAT I HAVE TO DO TO STOP YOU!_ " she roars.

Undyne closes her eye and clutches at her head, backing away from me. Control seems to be switching between her and the human as they struggle. After several long, tense seconds, she collapses. The fight is over.

My soul returns to normal. Clutching at my injuries, I haul myself to my feet and cautiously step closer to my girlfriend. She doesn't move.

"Undyne?"

Her eye flickers open. She sees me and smiles weakly. "Alphy, it's me..." she says.

"D-did you beat Frisk?" I ask.

"No... But they're gone for now."

"A-are you okay?"

Trembling a bit, Undyne tries to push herself up, but she just falls back to the ground with a pained grunt. "I don't think I can move..." she says.

Sitting down beside her, I wrap my arms around Undyne and pull her up onto my lap, cradling her. When she sees the wounds on my side, she winces. "I'm so sorry," she tells me, her voice barely a whisper.

"It's okay," I whisper back, stroking her head comfortingly. "It was Frisk, n-not you."

Undyne looks up at me. Her eye grows cloudy and unfocused before slipping closed. She lies still. I gently shake her shoulder. She doesn't wake. Sighing, I sling her arm over my shoulders and stand, trying in vain to ignore the pain of my injuries. " _I've got to get you back to my lab,_ " I think, looking down at her.

I've just managed to haul Undyne out of the chamber when I hear a noise coming from the hallway in front of me. I freeze. A few seconds later, the entire Royal Guard bursts into the room. The Knight Knight immediately rushes over and grabs Undyne, clamping chains around her wrists. "W-wait! What are you d-doing?! L-leave her a-alone!" I shout.

"I can't do that, Dr. Alphys. We have orders to bring Undyne back to the capital. You will have to come with us as well," she says.

Final Froggit hops over to me. "Did she hurt you?" he asks, inspecting my injuries.

"N-no, of course not! Well, s-she did, b-but it's not her fault! The h-human soul has been c-controlling her!"

The other monsters pause for a moment. One of them says, "We still have to bring her back to New Home. The king can decide what to do with her after that."

All I can do is watch helplessly as Undyne is carried away. Whimsalot flutters up to me and says, "Dr. Alphys, please come with us. Your wounds will be tended to at the castle, and I'm sure that King Asgore would like to talk to you."

I nod and let the Guards lead me away. As we walk through the Ruins, a small flash of yellow by one of the walls catches my eye. I look over. Flowey is there, growing out of a crack in the ground. He watches me silently, curiously, as I walk by. Then he pops into the ground and is gone. " _It would have been nice if he actually fought Frisk with me instead of just tormenting me,_ " I think bitterly before turning back to the path ahead. I can't afford to dwell on Flowey's rather twisted definition of "helping" right now. I have a job to do. I have to figure out a way to prove to Asgore how Frisk has been controlling Undyne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, another chapter that was almost physically painful to write.


	17. Undying (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fate of the Underground lies balanced between the point of a spear and the edge of a knife.

"Can you hear me, Undyne?"

I open my eye and see Chara peering down at me. "Yeah, I can hear you," I say, getting up. "How did you bring me back here?"

"When you took control back from Frisk, it temporarily weakened them. That gave me the opportunity to return you to the mindscape," they explain.

"Why?"

"I think that we have a chance to defeat them."

I stare at them in disbelief. "You think we can beat them? Chara, last time we fought Frisk, they almost killed both of us and we did next to nothing to them!"

"We don't have a choice."

"You don't think I know that?! I can feel Frisk getting stronger _every second_! I wasn't able to stop them from taking control earlier, and if that happens again people are gonna die!" I yell. I take a deep breath and continue, "Chara... I don't think I can beat them."

"Admittedly, our chances aren't good, but there is still a chance. Frisk underestimates you. But the two of you share a soul, making you just as powerful as they are. And you have an advantage that they don't. You have a reason to fight--the people you care about. Remember that!" Chara says. Then their eyes go wide with horror. "Behind you!"

I whirl around and come face to face with Frisk, who holds their stone knife poised to plunge into my back. Hurriedly, I summon my spear and stab at them. The human dances backwards, laughing and saying, "That was a very touching message, Chara. But it won't do either of you any good. As Undyne said, I am getting stronger by the second. She isn't." They turn their gaze to me. "Although I'm looking forward to seeing you try to stop me, monster."

I launch a volley of spears at Frisk, who swipes the first of the projectiles out of the air with ease. They dodge the rest.

I charge and take a swipe at them, trying to catch them off guard. My spear grazes their chest, but Frisk just shrugs off the injury and digs their knife into a weak spot in my armor. The wound doesn't seem too serious, but it's already starting to feel as cold as ice. I have no time to lose.

Changing tactics, I send more spears flying at Frisk, this time from behind and the sides. Several of them hit their mark, leaving deep gashes. I smile a bit. " _Maybe I_ can _do this._ "

I try to stab Frisk again. They manage to evade the blow by leaping to the side. They lunge at me, but I counter with my spear and manage to land a hit.

Frisk backs off for a moment--probably planning their next move. "I wouldn't be getting too confident if I were you," they say. Moving with astonishing swiftness, the human darts towards me, slamming into me. I hear the sound of tearing metal and, a second later, feel a sharp pain in my stomach. I shove the human away, but the damage is already done. Blood runs from the open wound.

I see movement out of the corner of my eye and look over. Chara is charging into the battle, a stone shard of their own clutched in their fist. "What are you doing?!" I shout at them.

"Helping you! You can't risk getting badly injured!" they shout back. As I launch a volley of spears at Frisk, the other human slices with their knife.

The murderous human deflects Chara's attack. They turn to block my spears, but aren't fast enough. Three of the projectiles cut their arm and shoulder. Frisk winces a bit. Then they dash towards me, leaving the other human far behind.

I hold my weapon at the ready, ready to ward off their attack. I swipe at the human as they get close, but they dive underneath my spear and jump back up in front of me, swinging their blade in a flurry of quick strikes.

I block the attacks as best I can, and my armor lessens the damage, but by the time our little brawl ends I've gotten several more serious wounds and I've begun to shiver from the cold filling my veins. My only consolation is that I managed to give Frisk their own fair share of injuries.

Chara re-enters the battle by slashing their knife across the other human's back. Frisk elbows them in the face. Chara staggers back, but never takes their eyes off their opponent.

Frisk whirls around. They lunge at the other human, arm and blade outstretched. Chara leans back, but the tip of the stone dagger still cuts a line across their arm. The young human clasps a hand to the wound and backs off. Frisk steps towards them menacingly.

I fire a wave of spears at the murderous human. They turn and block them, giving Chara time to attack again. They stab Frisk in the lower back.

The human seems to be growing frustrated. They look from me to Chara and back again, then run towards me. I shoot a line of spears at them, all one after another. Just before the first projectile hits, Frisk ducks. The spears go flying straight at Chara. They fling themselves out of the way, landing hard on their shoulder. Their knife clatters to the ground.

Frisk rushes forward and scoops up the fallen weapon. With a flick of their wrist, they throw the improvised knife into Chara's back. The fallen human's face contorts with pain. Frisk stalks towards them.

I run to the injured human, putting myself between them and Frisk, who just chuckles. "Chara, stay back," I say as the other human advances. "You can't fight like this."

They push themselves to their feet, clutching their wound. "You still need help."

Frisk lunges at me. I fend them off. "Let me handle this! You're too badly hurt!"

"So are you!"

"Just go! And stay back, no matter what happens!"

Chara nods reluctantly and starts heading to the other end of the island. Frisk tries to follow them, but I block their path. The murderous human smirks, shakes their head, and attacks. I send a volley of energy spears their way, but the projectiles have little effect. Swiping, dodging, and running, the human evades them all. With a triumphant smile, they drive their knife through my armor, tearing open a long gash on my side.

Right away I can tell that the wound is bad. Grimacing, I take a sluggish swing at Frisk. They simply knock my weapon away and stab me once more. Their blade hits its mark. I feel a burst of coldness that seems to freeze my soul. Everything starts looking out of focus. Before I have a chance to retaliate, Frisk stabs me again and again. The only thing I can feel now is pain.

Placing their hands on my shoulders, Frisk tries to push me to my knees. My legs give out beneath me, even though I try to stay on my feet. I make an attempt to get back up, but my legs refuse to work. I'm too weak to fend the human off, too weak to even try.

Their voice dripping with derision and contempt, Frisk says, "Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed in you, Undyne. I mean, I knew you'd lose, but I was expecting you to at least _try_ to put up a fight." They scoff. "You're not exactly living up to the title of 'hero', now are you?"

The blunt end of Frisk's knife cracks against my head, sending me sprawling to the ground. My vision fades in and out, and it takes all of my little remaining strength just to keep from slipping into oblivion. I hear Frisk chuckle. They grab me by the hair and lift my head. I feel them press the side of their knife against my throat, digging it into the edge of one of my gills. Awful, stinging pain flashes through my neck. A few drops of warm blood trickle from the cut. "Well, I suppose it's time to finish you off now," the human informs me. "Farewell, Undyne."

A thousand thoughts rush through my head at once. My kingdom. My people. All those the human has killed. Everyone I have to protect. The people I care about. Papyrus. Asgore. Chara. Sans. Alphys. If Frisk kills me, everyone will die, and those who gave their lives to try and stop the human before will have done so in vain. I start to hear a faint drumming sound, like a heartbeat.

Just before Frisk cuts my throat, I strike them with all the strength I can muster. I must have hit them pretty hard--or at least startled them--because the human lets go of me. I open my eye and see that they've backed up a ways. They almost look surprised.

I summon a few spears, letting them hover between Frisk and I. Slowly, shakily, I stand. The human simply watches me. "Well then. It looks like you will be a bit of a challenge after all," they note, a smile slowly splitting their face.

The human starts to rush towards me. My spears crash into them, knocking them back. This gives them a pause. "If you think I'm gonna give up hope and just let you kill me, Frisk, you're wrong," I say, feeling a flicker of warmth in the depths of my soul.

"You're really going to try this again? It won't save you, or your friends."

"Maybe not, but at least it gives me a chance. And if I have chance to stop you, there's no way I'm not taking it."

The sound of heartbeats grows louder and louder. My vision sharpens, my head clears, my wounds cease to hurt. My entire body feels suffused with fire and strength and energy. Frisk's killing intent begins to melt away like ice on a warm day.

Calling forth a half-circle of energy spears, I send them careening towards the human, who dodges them all. I clutch my spear tightly in my hand and start to march towards them. With every step I take, I think of all that I'm fighting for. For the sake of the whole world, I have to win this fight. And I will.

Because I am filled with determination.

I grin, saying in a deadly calm voice, "Let's finish this."

Frisk responds with a sadistic smile of their own. "Yes. Let's."

I lunge at the human, driving them back with a flurry of attacks. I chase them even farther away with a few volleys of spears. Frisk stops to catch their breath. Well, they stop until they see the spears gathering above them. The projectiles form a circle before plunging towards them. The human jumps to the side and narrowly avoids getting hit. More rings of spears appear over their head. They start running away, darting back and forth to evade the attacks. Some of my spears hit their target, leaving fresh wounds. "I see you've gotten better at that kind of attack," the human comments breathlessly.

Frisk turns and begins running towards me. Right as they reach me, I swipe at them and change their soul to green. I back up to a safe distance and summon a barrage of spears behind the human. I send the weapons flying.

Frisk pivots just in time to knock the first batch of projectiles out of the air. The next spear they grab and hold in front of them. " _So you're trying this again? Well, I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve, too._ "

More projectiles appear and shoot towards my opponent, this time from the left and right. The human turns back and forth between the lines of spears, blocking them before they make impact. I concentrate on making the spears go faster, their patterns more random. Spears start coming from the front and back again, too. Frisk has to move faster and faster to block them all. But they don't move fast enough. The next several projectiles take them in the side. Blood splatters the ground.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I summon more spears. A few of them shimmer, their color changing from electric blue to gold. Frisk raises an eyebrow. The spears hurtle in their direction.

Frisk blocks the first few like they normally do. Then the first gold one reaches them. It connects with the knife. This time, the spear doesn't shatter. It spins in a semicircle around Frisk before coming at them from behind. The human turns to block it and has to immediately turn back around to block the rest of the incoming projectiles.

More golden spears materialize and fly towards Frisk from all directions. The human twirls and pivots, their stone knife darting back and forth. Golden sparks fill the air. I stretch out my arm, directing the spears, pouring my determination into the attacks. One spear rips across Frisk's back. They hiss in pain.

Thinking I might have an advantage, I call forth another wave of weapons. The human's eyes dart back and forth before a strange little smile crosses their face. Just before the spears make impact, Frisk drops to the ground and curls into a ball.

The move throws me off guard, and my entire attack formation plunges into chaos. Most of the spears just crash into each other, breaking apart harmlessly over the human's head. Some of them--the ones coming from behind my opponent--are now headed towards me. I hurriedly raise my spear and block them all, gold ones included. " _Looks like it's time to change things up._ "

I rush forward and return Frisk's soul to red. Immediately, I jump back, readying myself for their next attack. Sure enough, Frisk lunges and tries to stab me in the stomach. I knock their blade aside and strike at their neck. They duck beneath the attack. Frisk darts around me and manages to land a hit on my back. I feel my determination working to counter the killing intent seeping though my veins.

I swing my spear in a broad arc. It hits Frisk squarely in the side and sends them flying. They land several feet away and roll to a stop. They scramble to their feet and grab their dagger from where it fell nearby, then dart back a ways.

Frisk starts to circle around me. As they move, they raise a hand and touch it to the blood staining their shirt, inspecting their injuries. My own wounds are stinging, but I stay focused on the battle, keeping my eye on the human. Both of us seem to be taking this moment to recuperate. "Why are you doing this?" I growl. "Why do you want to hurt everyone so badly?"

"I was curious, and I'm capable of doing so, so why shouldn't I? Besides, it's entertaining to see just how desperate people get when their world comes crashing down."

"So you murdered innocent people because it's _fun_ for you?!"

They smirk. "Innocent? Those 'innocent' people you're talking about were trying to steal my soul. That doesn't seem very innocent to me."

"You humans killed hundreds of us! No monster had ever tried to take a human's soul, and your people still slaughtered us and banished us to the Underground!" I yell.

Suddenly, Frisk gives a gigantic grin and sprints at me. In my anger, I hadn't realized that they were inching towards me. I lash out at them with my spear, but they dance out of the way and start running to my left. My blind side. In a split second they're out of my field of vision. I turn to attack them, but not quite in time. I hear the ringing sound of their knife hitting my armor before I feel a flash of pain between my shoulder blades.

I slam the back end of my spear into Frisk's stomach. I feel their knife slide out of my back as they retreat. I spin around to face them. The human is smiling, like they're enjoying themselves. The corner of my lip twitches up in a snarl. "You make me _sick_ , Frisk. You like killing. And you don't have any standards about how you do it, do you? You'd be just as happy to kill someone in their sleep as in a fair fight, wouldn't you?" I say as I march towards the human, spears materializing nearby.

"Oh, don't pretend like you're any different, Undyne. I've seen inside your mind, I know how much you enjoy fighting. You may not have as much killing experience as I do, but you certainly aren't nonviolent," they reply with a sly smile. I fire the spears at them. Frisk just laughs as they dodge them. I send more spears flying. They keep dodging.

"And for someone who makes a big deal about honor, you have surprisingly little of it. Not only did you kill me--a mere human child--but you killed me when I was unarmed, and on the ground, no less. Weren't you taught not to kick someone while they're down?" Frisk chides.

I pause, just for a moment. The human chuckles and dashes towards me, brandishing their knife. As I parry their attack, they ask, "Really, what's stopping you from being just like me?"

"I have a conscience. I have people I care about," I reply. "I fight to protect them. Yes, I like the challenge of fighting, but I _don't_ fight just to destroy!" I lunge at the human, aiming for their torso.

Frisk pivots, deftly avoiding the strike. "You still murdered a child," they say as they spin.

"What kind of child tries to wipe out an entire species for fun?! What kind of child tries to kill another kid?! What kind of child murders a harmless skeleton who was just trying to help them?! You gave up the right to live when you killed so many of my people!" I shout, trying to hit Frisk again. "And you were already dying when I finished you off. You were dead either way. I just made sure you died quicker."

The human deflects the attack. "So you admit I was already defeated when you killed me. That seems rather ignoble of you."

"I wasn't taking any chances."

"Still--"

I cut off their response with a quick strike to the torso. Frisk staggers away, their face twisting into a grimace. I drive them farther back with a series of frantic attacks. After several seconds, they're forced to retreat.

Frisk is quite a ways away from me now. Their breathing is heavy and ragged. I'm wearing them down. " _I need something to finish them off,_ " I think, readying a new attack.

Bright blue spots appear under and around the human. Frisk's eyes widen. They start sprinting away. Spears erupt from the ground beneath their feet, tearing into the human's body. Frisk destroys a few of them with a well-timed slash as they make a break for safety.

I summon another patch of spears just as they leave the first one. Frisk leaps and darts and dances, trying to avoid them all. They're somewhat successful, but still get hurt.

Switching up my strategy, I summon more spears from the ground while sending a wave of projectiles at Frisk from the air. They have no choice but to run as fast as their legs can carry them.

I carry on the attack for as long as I can manage. Even with my determination, it takes a lot of effort to use so much magic at once, and I need to conserve my energy.

Frisk is bruised and battered. Their face, clothes, and hair are covered in blood. They're clutching their knife so tightly that their knuckles are white, and they are staring at me with an expression of complete and utter malice. But their strength is failing, I can tell. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. I am so close to winning this battle, to stopping Frisk forever. I charge forward, raising my spear into an attack position.

The human slips to the side and slashes at me. Their weapon scrapes my armor, but doesn't break through. Frisk darts back, looking like they're about to charge at me. I hold my spear up, ready to block their attack. Frisk runs towards me.

A second before they crash into me, Frisk turns on their heel and darts the other way. Right towards Chara. I feel a flash of fear. I can't let them die.

I race towards the humans, but I'm just not getting there fast enough. Chara is trying to flee, but Frisk is right on their tail. I put on a burst of speed. With their wounds, there's no way that Chara will be able to defend themselves.

Frisk's knife plunges downwards just as I jump between them and the other human. It strikes my armor and cuts straight through, sinking into my right shoulder. The human drives their blade farther in, twisting and turning it. I can feel muscles tearing. An almost blinding pain radiates from the wound. In a desperate attempt to stop Frisk from doing even more damage, I send a barrage of spears flying into their side. They're forced to retreat.

I try to raise my spear to retaliate, but that just makes incredible pain flare through my shoulder. I stifle a cry as my arm falls back down. The human grins. "Let's see how well you can fight with a crippled arm," they say.

I dematerialize my spear and let it reappear in my other hand, suddenly very much regretting that I was never as good at fighting left-handed. I summon a group of spears over my head, launching a few at Frisk and keeping some by me. The human slashes some of the projectiles out of the air and rushes towards me, preparing to attack.

I command the rest of the spears to fly in front of me. They cluster together into a makeshift barricade. I focus entirely on making them as strong as possible so Frisk's attack won't break through. The spears shatter as the human's blade makes contact, but they stop the attack from going any further.

That doesn't stop Frisk for long, though. They leap to the side, duck under my spear, and aim a strike at my uninjured shoulder. I smack them to the side at the last second, but they just switch their target--aiming instead at the spot between my neck and wounded shoulder. The knife punctures my already damaged armor. The human's attack opens up a fresh gash along my collarbone. Frisk jumps back before I have a chance to retaliate.

Even all of my determination isn't enough to banish the pain from my many injuries. I've lost a lot of blood. But I can stay on my feet. I can still fight, despite my arm. That's all that matters. I ready my next attack.

Two rows of projectiles materialize on either side of my opponent. They plunge towards the human. Frisk zigzags between them, managing to dodge all but one of my attacks. The one spear that hits barely fazes them.

They run up to me, preparing to stab me in the side. I turn away and back up. The human deftly circles me. Their knife finds a crack in my armor and slides between my ribs. Frisk twists the weapon, as if trying to lodge it in my side. I wrench myself away, feeling the wound tear open further as I do. Darkness flickers at the edges of my vision.

Frisk is grinning viciously, their eyes alight. Seeing me in pain seems to fill them with determination. " _Come on, Undyne, focus. You have to win this,_ " I tell myself. Gritting my teeth, I rush at them.

The human parries my attack, striking back quickly. We trade blows for a while, frantically blocking, dodging, slicing, stabbing. We're both gasping for breath. The world is blurring, so much so that I have to squint to focus. My blood feels like ice water.

"Face it, Undyne. You're losing," Frisk says between labored breaths.

"I'm not giving up."

"You might as well. It would spare you a lot of suffering," they reply. "Who knows, I might even make your death quick."

"You'd just kill everyone I care about." I lunge at the human, desperately trying to deal damage to them. They step to the side, my attack only grazing them. I send spears after them, which they dodge.

Frisk runs up to me, grabbing my injured arm and dragging me towards them. The sudden burst of pain catches me off guard. I shout and stumble forward a pace before regaining my balance. Frisk jabs their knife at me. I stab at them in turn, driving them away. They back up all the way to the edge of the island, their heels only a few inches from the little cliff that hangs over the water.

I have to end this battle, and I have to do it soon. I can't keep this up much longer. The only good news is that the human isn't in the best shape, either. One decisive attack might just finish them off. " _They're too good at predicting what I'm gonna do,_ " I think. " _I need to surprise them somehow._ " I recall my first fight with Frisk, how I'd tried to kill them by using my special attack. Of course, it didn't work then, and probably won't work this time. But maybe I can do something else with it...

A hint of a smile crosses my face. Frisk tilts their head curiously. "Does something about your situation amuse you?"

Not responding, I make a glowing, two-tiered ring of spears appear over the human's head. They look up, already raising their makeshift knife to defend themselves. They recognize this attack, that's for sure. They're so confident in their ability to block it that they don't even try to dodge it.

The projectiles begin to spin, going faster and faster. They plunge towards the human, bursting into a cloud of blue light on impact. In a few seconds, the glow fades. Frisk is unharmed and smirking. "Did you _really_ think that would kill me?" they ask, incredulous. "It's what led to your death last ti--"

The human freezes mid-sentence, then looks down at the spear sticking through their chest. They were so busy gloating that they didn't notice me running up to them until it was too late.

Frisk looks up at me, their face a mask of spite and disbelief. I return their icy gaze. After a few more seconds, their eyes go blank and glassy. I yank my spear out of their body, pushing them back in the process. They fall backwards and topple over the small cliff, landing in the water. Their body sinks beneath the surface.

The battle is over. I have won.

I stand perfectly still, staring at the spot where Frisk stood, at the dark red blood on my spear, at the ripples in the water. The human doesn't surface. I'm almost afraid to let myself believe that they're gone.

I feel a light tap on my good arm, and I flinch, still tense from the fight. "It's alright, Undyne. It's just me," Chara says.

Turning to look at them, I ask, "It's over, isn't it?"

"I think so."

I let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. I grin, and I can't help it--I start laughing. Frisk is finally gone. My people are safe now. My friends are safe. Alphys is safe. "We did it," I say. "We really won."

Chara nods. We stand quietly for a little while. Eventually, I break the silence by asking, "What's going to happen to us now? I mean, can Frisk's soul exist when they've been killed like this?"

"It should," the human responds. "I believe that it's just ours to control now."

"Good." After a few more seconds, I add, "So... does that mean that you can control me and see into my mind and stuff now?"

"I could, if I wanted to. But do not worry, I won't do that. Your mind is your own." They smile faintly. "But I will be here, if you ever need my help."

I smile back. "Thanks, Chara."

All of the sudden, my determination wears off. All of the pain and exertion from the fight hits me at once. I draw in a ragged breath and press my hands to my head, barely able to keep from passing out.

"I think I should return you to the physical world now," Chara says. "Your injuries seem to be getting the better of you. Besides, you need to tell your friends what has been happening to you."

I know I need to tell the others about Frisk, but I still hesitate. The human asks, "You're worried, aren't you?"

"It's just... I don't know how I'll be able to explain all this. And what if nobody believes me? The other monsters might never trust me again," I say softly, still clutching my head.

"True, but you have at least a few people who will. Alphys already believes you, and she can probably convince Sans of that, if she hasn't already. Asgore will be willing to listen to you," Chara explains. "He always was very understanding. And I can tell that he cares about you."

I chuckle weakly. "Yeah. And I do have you as a witness if I need any proof."

Even Chara chuckles a little. "You really should go, now."

I nod, which just makes me even more dizzy. "I think you're right."

"Goodbye, Undyne."

"Bye, Chara."

I close my eye, and my mind and the world go blank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m pretty sure this was the start of my love-hate (mostly love, but still) relationship with writing fight scenes (good grief, this thing took forever to finish).
> 
> Anyways, there’s not too much left to go from here. I’m going to miss posting this, it’s been fun!


	18. Reunited (Undyne)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Frisk gone, the monsters take a moment to recount their struggles and plan for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last (full) chapter, here we go!

My thoughts seem slow, heavy. My body feels leaden. " _What happened? The mindscape battle couldn't make me feel_ this _tired in the real world, could it?_ " I wonder. I concentrate for a moment, and memories trickle back into my mind. The ruined city of Home. Flowey leading Alphys to me. Frisk and I struggling for control. "No wonder I'm exhausted..." I open my eye and see pale grey stone above me. I sit up and rub my head for a moment, trying to dispel my headache. That's when I notice the chains.

Thick metal cuffs cover my wrists, connected by three chains braided together. I grab the chains and try to pull them apart. The metal bends and stretches, but doesn't quite break. I try to summon a few spears, wondering if I can break the chains that way. Three transparent projectiles appear and hover in the air for a few seconds before fading away. These must be the kind of shackles that can stop a monster from using magic. Sighing frustratedly and resting my hands on my knees, I take in my surroundings.

I'm sitting on a wooden bench in a small cell. The floor and three of the walls are made of the same grey stone as the ceiling. The fourth wall is made of interlocking metal bars, woven together to form a tight net. I'm in the dungeon beneath Asgore's castle. " _Alphys must not have been able to get me back to her lab after I passed out. Someone must have found us and captured me and brought me back here._ " I look back down at my shackled wrists. " _Never thought I'd end up in one of these cells," I think with a bitter chuckle. "But I can't blame them for locking me up, not after what Frisk made me do._ "

I hear an anxious ribbit from the other side of the bars. Looking up, I see that two members of the Royal Guard--Final Froggit and Moldbygg--are in the hallway outside my cell, watching me nervously. As I meet their gazes, they both back away and summon a few magical projectiles. They're scared of me.

In the calmest voice I can manage, I say, "I need to talk to King Asgore. It's important."

"We're under orders to n-not let you out of that cell, n-no matter what you say or do," Final Froggit stutters.

"I'm not asking you to let me out, I just need to talk to the king," I reply, sitting still with my hands folded on my lap to show that I'm not a threat.

Final Froggit clears his throat. "We can't allow you to be near him. You're too dangerous."

"I'm chained up and in a cell," I say, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. "What _exactly_ do you think I could do to him?"

All I get in response is stubborn silence. "Look, I need to talk to Asgore, okay! Can't one of you can _at least_ go tell him that I'm awake?!" I say, raising my voice.

Both monsters jump back even farther. Final Froggit tries to look unafraid. "Very well. I'll go fetch the king. Keep an eye on her, Moldbygg," he says, hopping away as fast as his legs will carry him. Moldbygg watches him for a brief moment before turning back to my cell and aiming her bullets at me.

A few minutes pass, and I start to wonder if Final Froggit even told Asgore about me. Or if he did, and Asgore just won't talk to me. " _What if he thinks I really did try to murder Alphys? What if he doesn't trust me anymore?_ " I think worriedly. Then, I hear footsteps--some heavy and thunderous, some light and rushed--from the stairway between the dungeon and the castle. Just a few seconds later, a small monster bursts into the hall.

Alphys.

She dashes right up to my cell, a huge, relieved smile on her face. "Y-you're awake!" I jump off my bench and run over to her. "You were unconscious for so long, I-I was so w-worried! Are you okay?" she asks.

She reaches through the bars. I take her hand, kissing it. Breaking into a grin, I tell her, "I did it, Alphy. I'm free."

Alphys looks surprised, but before she can respond, Asgore walks up to us. Final Froggit trails behind him. "At ease, Moldbygg," the king says to the other Guard. The mold monster hesitates for a second, then nods and lets her bullets fade. She respectfully moves back.

Asgore looks from her to me to Alphys. "You were saying, Alphys?"

"O-oh, right," Alphys says, looking back at me. "You said that you're f-free now? D-does that mean you beat Frisk?"

My grin grows even wider. "They're dead. For good, this time."

Both Asgore and Alphys look relieved. Then a look of concern crosses my girlfriend's face. "B-but, how could you kill them again? And that won't have any affect on the s-soul, r-right? Y-you still need the determination."

"I'll be fine. Frisk's soul is mine now." I pause for a second. "Well, not all mine. It's a long story. Asgore, can I please get out of this cell, now?"

He frowns. "I have to make sure that you really are yourself before I let you out of there," he explains.

"SERIOUSLY?!? Asgore, I'm myself! Did Frisk and I EVER act ANYTHING like each other?!"

Asgore laughs heartily. "I cannot say you ever did, and I do not believe they are a good enough actor to impersonate you quite so... authentically."

He turns to Final Froggit and holds out his hand. The little monster unhooks a pair of keys from his belt and passes them to Asgore, although he's still eying me warily. Asgore sticks one of the keys into a slot on the front of my cell, and the door swings open.

Alphys and I immediately throw our arms around each other. She buries her head in my hair. I hold her like the whole world will dissolve if I let go. We stay like this until Asgore taps me on the shoulder. "I am sorry to break up your reunion, but would you like me to get those chains off of you?" he asks.

"Oh, yeah," I answer, stepping away from Alphys and sticking out my hands. Asgore uses the other key to unlock the cuffs around my wrists, catching them as they fall off. "Thanks, buddy," I say. 

He smiles at me in response. Then he says, "Now, Alphys and Sans have told me about what Frisk the human was trying to do to you, but I would like to hear your side of the story as well. Besides, I am curious to hear just how you managed to defeat them."

"I can tell you what happened. It's gonna take a while, though," I reply, thinking about all the crazy stuff that's been happening.

"I will make us all some tea then." He turns and begins walking towards the stairs. Final Froggit and Moldbygg follow him.

I look over at Alphys. She smiles at me. I smile back. "Are you okay?" I ask. "I mean... from what Frisk did to you earlier?"

"O-oh. Well, the doctors said I'll be fine, b-but..." She pauses for a second before continuing, "T-they also said that the wound on my shoulder was r-really deep, and that it'll take me a while to fully recover. And i-it will probably leave a scar."

My heart drops. "Alphy, I--"

"And I don't want you blaming yourself! Blame Frisk. They used you, they hurt you even more than they hurt me," she tells me sternly.

Startled by her little outburst, I nod. Alphys hugs me and kisses me on the cheek. "I-it's going to be okay. We're going to be okay." She nuzzles my chin before brushing her lips against mine. I curl my arm across her back, pulling her close.

"So, are you two just gonna stand in the dungeon all day, or are ya gonna head upstairs?"

My cheeks start burning. I look over and see Sans watching us, a smirk on his face. I start blushing even more.

"U-uhhh, w-we were j-just going to h-head up," Alphys stammers.

Sans's smile grows wider, and he chuckles. He turns to me. "How're ya feelin'?" he asks.

"Tired. But hey, at least I'm not dead this time," I answer, smiling back.

"Well, I think Asgore's waitin' for us. We should go up."

"Yeah," I look over at Alphys. She nods, and we all start walking towards the stairs.

Two more Royal Guards--Pyrope and Whimsalot--are standing by the exit to the dungeon. When they see us coming, they move to block the door, weapons held at the ready. "It's okay. Undyne w-won't hurt anyone," Alphys assures them. They still hesitate. "She's with me. A-and she's not a prisoner anymore."

The two monsters share a glance. Then they step aside and let us pass. We walk through the doorway and into the throne room of the castle. Asgore is just walking in, carrying a tray with a teapot and several teacups on it. He smiles when he sees us. "Ah, good, you are all here. Come, let us discuss this... situation," he says, making his way towards his study.

The four of us enter the small, comfortably furnished room. Alphys and I sit down on a pair of soft armchairs near the fireplace. Asgore and Sans take two other chairs opposite of us, near Asgore's large wooden desk. The king places the tray of tea on the little table between us all and pours two cups, passing one to me. I take it gratefully, breathing in the fragrant steam. I settle into the chair, making myself comfortable.

Asgore takes the second cup for himself and asks, "Alphys, would you like any tea?"

"S-sure, I guess," she replies, and he pours her a cup.

"Sans, would you like any?"

"Nah, I'm good," he says, lounging in his chair.

"Alright, then," Asgore says, sipping his tea. "Undyne, would you care to share your story? I am sure we are all curious to hear it. You said that you managed to kill the human?"

"Yes, I did."

"How, may I ask? All that was left of them was their soul."

I hesitate for a long moment, unsure of what to say. If I tell Asgore about the mindscape, that means telling him about Chara, too. I don't know how he'll react to that. " _He deserves to know. He was like a father to Chara,_ " I think. "I had help," I say quietly.

"H-help? How? Who helped you?" Alphys asks.

I look over at Asgore, take a deep breath, and say, "It was Chara, the first fallen human."

The entire room goes dead silent. After a few seconds, Asgore asks, "Surely you cannot mean that?"

"No, it's true. I know it sounds insane, but Chara really did help me."

"That is not possible," Asgore says. "Chara died long ago, and you would have to had absorbed their soul to communicate with them, would you not?"

"Not exactly. They told me that when Frisk fell, they landed on their grave. Frisk's determination woke them up. It tied them to Frisk's soul. That's how they can talk to me."

Asgore buries his face in his hands. "I had hoped that one of my children would have escaped such a fate."

"Wait, what? You know what happened to--"

"To Asriel? Yes, I do. I knew even before Alphys told me. After Asriel's... transformation... he appeared to me in my garden. I tried to help him, but he ran away. I have not seen him since that day," he explains, looking down. I think I can see tears in the corners of his eyes.

"You could talk to them, if you want," I say, trying to think of something--anything--to make Asgore feel better.

"What?" he asks, looking up at me.

"Did Alphys tell you how Frisk used me to talk to her?"

"Yes, she did."

"Chara can do that, too."

Asgore stares at me, wide-eyed. "You would be willing to let a human control you again, even after everything you have just been through?"

"Yes," I reply.

"Thank you," Asgore says, giving me a bittersweet smile. "I would like that."

I concentrate, reaching out to the fallen human, asking them to talk. After a few seconds, I feel the now-familiar sensation of them taking control. They look around, taking in our surroundings.

My friends seem to notice the change instantly. Sans just watches, curious to see what Chara will do. Alphys stares at me, a look of slight concern on her face, as if she's unsure whether to trust the human or not. Asgore's eyes are filled with hope and amazement. He whispers, "Chara, is that you?"

"Yes. Hello, Dad," they say with a faint smile.

Asgore laughs. "I cannot believe it. How are you? Are you well?"

"I'm doing as well as I can," they respond. "Considering my current condition."

"Well, I am glad for that," the king says.

Chara turns to face Alphys and says, "It's nice to finally meet you."

"I-it's nice to m-meet you, t-too?" Alphys replies.

I break free of the human's control for a second, just long enough to say, "It's okay, Alphy. Chara won't hurt anyone."

After another moment, Alphys nods. "Okay."

Chara smiles again. "Thank you for trusting me. And thank you for standing up to Frisk. That was very brave of you, and I know Undyne thinks that, too."

Alphys looks down, smiling shyly. "O-oh. T-thanks."

Now the fallen human looks over at Sans. "Hello, Sans. I assume that you helped stop Frisk again, too?"

"Yeah," he says, "I helped Alphys do some research."

"Good. Although I wouldn't have thought you would be much of a scientist."

Sans shrugs. "What can I say? I've got a _skele-ton_ of talents." Chara gives Sans an annoyed glare.

After a moment, Asgore clears his throat. "So, how did you help Undyne kill Frisk?" he asks.

"I brought Undyne to a place called a mindscape. It is sort of like a miniature dream world. Once in there, we fought Frisk," they explain.

"H-how did you fight them?" Alphys inquires, leaning forward curiously.

"Our consciousnesses are what appeared in the mindscape, which is why Undyne suffered no physical injuries. Although she was weakened due to the close connections between a monster's body, mind and soul." Chara says. "When Undyne killed Frisk, she killed their mind. That's why the soul is unaffected."

Alphys tilts her head, mumbling, "Interesting..."

The human pauses for a second, then continues, "I think I should let Undyne talk now. She will be able to tell you the rest of the story."  
Chara's influence fades, snapping me back to myself. Everyone watches me curiously. "Ummm... a-are you... yourself, now?" Alphys asks tentatively.

I can't help chuckling a little."Yeah, Alphy, I'm me."

She smiles, looking relieved. I look to Asgore, asking, "You okay?"

"Yes, I believe I am," he answers. "Now, will you tell us all what else happened to you? And I believe you should start from the beginning."

I look away from the others, taking a sip of tea, definitely not looking forward to reliving the events of the past couple of days. Alphys places her hand on top of mine, and I look over at her. I wrap my fingers around hers and turn back to my friends. I take a deep breath and start to tell my story. "The night before my day off, I had a really horrible nightmare. Alphys... she died. I killed her."

Everyone looks shocked, including Alphys herself. "Why d-didn't you tell me?" she asks.

"I didn't want to scare you. We just got together. I didn't want to ruin that," I explain.

"It was just a nightmare. I would've understood," she says softly. 

I give her a tiny smile. "Anyways, I had a nightmare," I continue. "And the next morning I went over to Alphys's lab, and we wound up doing some research on souls. We didn't really find anything, but Sans did."

"What did he find?" Asgore asks.

I glance over at Sans. "We could do a demonstration, I guess."

"Sure thing," he says. A bone appears in the air between us and careens towards me. It smashes into my shoulder.

"You didn't have to hit me _that_ hard!" I shout, snarling.

Sans shrugs, smirking. I look down and see my fused soul glowing over my heart. I glance up at Asgore, curious to see his reaction. He's watching me in open-mouthed astonishment. "Amazing," he whispers. Then he frowns. "Your soul is cracked."

"Yeah, it is," I reply as the soul fades once again.

"The determination from the human soul is what's keeping her a-alive," Alphys tells him. "It's what's stopping her soul from s-shattering again."

Asgore's expression darkens. "I see. What happened after you three performed this little experiment?"

"You called me, and I went to the capital and I hired the new Royal Guards."

"Did anything unusual happen?"

"Frisk started talking to me."

"What did they say?"

"They wanted me to kill other monsters. And they didn't just talk to me."

"What else did they do?"

"They kind of attacked me. Attacked my mind, I mean."

"Attacked? How?" Asgore inquires, leaning forward.

"I don't even really know how to explain it," I reply. "But it started the day after I first heard Frisk. I just heard whispers at first, but it started getting worse. There were screams, and shouting, and it all got so intense. I couldn't understand them at all, I just knew that they wanted me to kill."

Alphys, still holding my hand, asks softly, "I-it was that bad?"

"Yes. That's why I started collapsing."

"You started _collapsing_?" Asgore says, his voice raised. "Undyne, you need to tell me when something like this happens to you. Regardless of the fact that this was the human's doing, you were obviously exhausted and needed rest. I would have given you time off. What if you fall seriously ill one day and refuse to tell me?"

"That's exactly why I _didn't_ tell you. I knew you would have made me take time off. There was just too much I needed to do, I couldn't afford to rest." After a second's pause, I add, "And I didn't want you to worry about me."

"I appreciate your concern for myself and for your kingdom, but you still should have told me."

"That's what I told her, too!" Alphys chimes in.

"I would have told him if it got worse!"

Alphys and Asgore share a look. Sans snickers, saying, "Sure ya would've."

"Can I just finish explaining what happened, please?"

"Of course," Asgore says, looking back over at me. "Please, continue."

"Things started getting really bad three days after all this started. I had to stop patrolling early because I just couldn't keep going. Alphys called me sometime after I got home, and when she heard how tired I sounded, she decided to come over to check on me," I tell my friends.

"And then Undyne told me what had been happening to her," Alphys adds. "I made her promise to take some time off i-if she still wasn't feeling better the next day. I stayed with her for a little while, a-and then I went home."

I continue, "I promised to call her in the morning and tell her how I was doing, but..."

"That was when Frisk first took over, I assume?" Asgore says, finishing my thought.

"Yeah. When I was sleeping that night, Chara brought me to the mindscape. They wanted to warn me about Frisk because they knew their powers were getting stronger. They told me about what Frisk wanted to do, how they wanted to use me to kill everyone else." I turn to my girlfriend. "Starting with Alphys."

The others watch me somberly as I explain what happened next. "Frisk showed up while Chara and I were talking. They grabbed a sharp rock off the ground and used it as a weapon, and we started to fight. But they, uh, kinda had a couple of advantages."

"What kinda advantages?" Sans inquires.

"I was exhausted, even at the start of the fight. And all of the L.O.V.E. that Frisk had before they died stayed with them. It acted like a poison. I fought as hard as I could, but they were too strong. Chara tried to help, but they couldn't do much. They got hurt. We both did. I tried using my determination, but it barely did anything. Frisk beat me. They took over, and I couldn't stop them." The words come pouring out of my mouth like a waterfall. As much as I don't want to admit to my friends that I failed, I want them to know what happened to me. I don't want to carry this burden alone anymore.

Asgore seems to sense how I feel, because he says, "I am sure you did all you could. I do not doubt that you would do everything in your power to protect people."

I continue my story. "Frisk took control of my body. They made me start walking to Alphys's lab. We were near the border of Waterfall and Hotland when she showed up."

"I had gotten w-worried, so I looked for Undyne on my cameras," Alphys explains.

"Yes, I remember that you called me that morning," Asgore interrupts.

Alphys nods and looks over at me. "I saw you on one of my cameras, s-so I went to go see you and make sure you were o-okay."

"And then Frisk made me watch as they tried to kill you."

"They made you watch? You were still conscious when they controlled you?" Asgore asks, a sickened expression crossing his face.

"I could still think and see and hear, but Frisk made sure that I couldn't move or talk or do anything to stop them."

"How'd ya break free?" Sans asks.

"Anger, I think. When I saw Alphys get hurt, I started fighting back with everything I had, and I managed to break Frisk's control. I guess I caught them off guard. After that, I just... ran."

"The Royal Guard informed me that they found you and Alphys in the ruins of Home," Asgore says. "How ever did you wind up there?"

"I needed to keep myself away from people so Frisk couldn't hurt anyone. I remembered Sans telling me about an old door in Snowdin Forest, and I figured that whatever was behind it would be a good place to hide out."

"They also said that there were many dead monsters there," Asgore says. For some reason, Sans starts looking worried at his statement.

" _The dead monsters. The queen._ " I hesitantly say, "Asgore... I think I know who one of the dead monsters was."

"How? From what we can tell, nobody except for you and the human has been to Home in at least several decades, and everyone there was already dead, were they not?"

"Yes, they were. I couldn't tell for sure, but... I think one of the monsters might have been Queen Toriel."

The king sits in silence for a few seconds, as if processing this information, before asking, "How could you know? How could you know if it was her or not?" His voice has taken on a sharp edge.

"I just said I don't know for sure. But I found a pile of dust near the entrance to the Ruins, in a house. It looked just like yours--I think it was your old house, actually. The one you said you and your family had back in Home," I explain. "It looked like someone had been living there for a while. And I smelled that butterscotch pie you said she always used to make. I am so sorry, but I really think it might be her."

"I see," he says. "I will have someone collect the dust so we can identify whoever it was. In any case, I... I am glad you told me of your suspicions."

The whole room is quiet for a while, none of us seeming to know what to say. Eventually, Sans--having regained his composure--speaks up. "So, how'd Alphys get hurt again?"

Alphys takes a turn talking. "When I found Undyne, Frisk had almost taken full control. Undyne told me to leave, b-but I waited t-too long, and Frisk took over. They attacked me again, a-and Undyne wasn't able to stop them, n-not at first."

"But I did. Eventually. Alphys helped a lot," I add. She blushes. "Then I passed out, and Chara brought me back to the mindscape. Frisk showed up, too, and we started to fight. It didn't go very well. Chara tried to help, but we both still got hurt. Honestly, I thought we were both going to die. Then I tried using my determination again, and it worked this time. It really worked. I got back up and I kept fighting. And I won."

"How did you kill them?" Asgore asks.

"I distracted them," I reply. Then I turn to Alphys and ask, "Do you remember how I tried to kill Frisk the first time?"

"You used your special attack."

"Yeah. I used it again this time."

"W-why? Frisk already knew how to counter it. And last time you used it you... y-you..."

"I know. That's why I used it this time."

Everyone stares at me, confused. "I figured that if I used that attack again, Frisk would think that I was trying to do exactly what I did last time. But I wasn't trying to kill them, just distract them. They fell for it," I explain. "They were so confident in themselves that they stood there taunting me after they blocked my attack. I ran up and stabbed them while they were distracted."

"So, they are really gone," Asgore muses.

"Yeah, they are."

"It is almost hard to believe, is it not?"

I laugh. "No kidding."

Asgore laughs with me for a moment. Then he looks over at my girlfriend, his expression changing from cheerful to stern. He says, "Alphys, there are some things that we need to discuss."

She starts looking nervous. "Um, w-what things?"

"The fact that you have been keeping secrets from me for several years now. The amalgamates. My son."

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so s-sorry. I just thought... I thought if I told anyone t-that they would drive me away. O-or that if I told you, y-you would fire me," she mumbles. "A-and you already knew what happened to Asriel anyway."

"True, but you did not know that. And I did not know about the amalgamates. I need my Royal Scientist to be someone that I can trust, especially in times such as these," he says.

She doesn't respond, only looks down ashamedly. He continues, "I really should fire you."

"Asgore, you can't just--" I start to protest. The king raises a hand and gives me a strict look. I fall silent. I look over at Alphys, meeting her anguish-filled eyes.

"But," Asgore adds, "in light of recent circumstances, I will not."

Alphys looks back over at him, shocked. "W-what?"

"Considering that you helped save Undyne's life and prevent a catastrophe, and that you are the foremost expert on determination and its effects, I will let you keep your job."

All Alphys can do is nod, stunned. "Okay," she whispers.

"However, you must promise me that you will _never_ keep secrets like this from me again. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes."

Asgore smiles. "Good. It would be a shame to have to replace such a brilliant scientist. As long as we are on the subject, I have an offer to make you." He glances over at Sans. "Both of you."

"What is it?" Alphys asks.

"Sans, you helped Alphys research the effects of human souls on monsters, correct?"

"Yeah."

"And Alphys, you will be continuing your research on determination, I assume?"

"Yes."

"How would you feel about having a lab assistant?"

"A-a lab assistant?" she asks, looking at Sans. He looks just as surprised as she does.

Asgore looks back and forth between them, then says, "Yes, a lab assistant. Sans, I know that you are a skilled scientist as well, and I was hoping that you might be willing to assist Alphys in her research."

The skeleton thinks for a moment. "Sure, why not," he replies.

Turning back to me, the king says, "I hope you do not mind. Sans is one of your sentries, after all."

I shrug. "It's fine with me. Maybe he'll actually do some work now," I respond, shooting a quick glare at the skeleton.

"Alright then," Asgore says. "Sans, you may go now, if you would like."

"Okay. See ya later, everyone," he says, standing and walking out of the room.

Asgore looks back to me. "Undyne, I have something that I would like to discuss with you as well. It is about your job."

I think I already have an idea about what he's going to say. All of my fears about being untrustworthy, about being unfit for duty, about being unable to protect my people surface again. "Asgore, if you want me to resign, I... I will," I blurt out.

He stares at me in shock. "Why would you think I would be asking you to resign?"

"How can anyone trust me after what I almost did? Didn't you see how scared the rest of the Royal Guards were when they saw me?"

"Yes, but they do not understand everything that was going on, and I am sure that the other monsters will understand when they are told what happened," Asgore explains.

"So, you're not firing me?"

"Of course not! I was about to ask you if you would be willing to keep your job. After everything you have been through, I was not sure if you would want to be a part of the Royal Guard anymore." He pauses for a second, then asks hesitantly, "Do you still want to keep your job?"

"Of course I do!"

He chuckles. "I suppose I should have expected that. But I must insist that you take some time off before returning to work." Before I can respond, he continues, "Now, I know that you want to do as much as you can to help everyone, but there is only so much you can do on your own. You have more than earned a little rest."

I think about this for a moment. "Maybe a vacation wouldn't be such a bad idea," I admit.

Both of the other monsters smile. "I would like you to take at least a month off," Asgore continues. "That is an order."

I nod. "Okay."

"Alright, then. Alphys, Undyne, I must go now. I have to find a way to explain to the other monsters what has happened with the human," Asgore informs us, getting out of his chair.

"They deserve to know," I add.

"Yes, they do. Goodbye, girls." With that, he walks out of the room, leaving Alphys and I alone.

I look over at the little yellow monster. She gets up and walks over, sitting down next to me on my chair. I wrap my arm around her, being careful not to touch any of her wounds and cause her more pain. She curls up against me. "So, how do you think you were able to use your determination? I-I mean, why did it work this time when it hadn't been working earlier?" she asks.

"I'm not exactly sure," I answer, "But..."

"But what?"

"I think it could have been because I knew I couldn't afford to lose that fight. I knew it was my last chance to stop Frisk."

"So, do you think that you can only use your determination when it seems like it's the only option?"

"Yeah, something like that, I guess." I smile. "And besides, I promised I'd always come back to you, didn't I?"

She smiles back. "Yeah, you did."

We sit together for a couple of minutes. I finish off the last of my tea, lean back in my chair, and relax a little. Eventually, I ask, "What do you think is gonna happen now?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"What do you think will happen to us? To everyone? To our whole kingdom?"

"Who knows," Alphys says with a sigh. "We could keep doing research on souls and determination, I-I guess. Maybe we'll find a way to break the Barrier eventually. I think we're definitely getting closer."

"It might not be safe to use the souls," I add.

"You're probably right, but at least we have them." A second later, Alphys takes my hand and looks into my eye, asking, "Are you doing okay?"

I shrug in response. "I don't know. It's kinda hard to wrap my head around all this. But I think Asgore was right about me needing a vacation. It'll be good to have a little while to rest."

"Speaking of rest, y-you probably should go home and get some sleep," she says. "You must be so tired."

"Sleep sounds _amazing_ right now," I say, getting up.

"D-do you want me to walk you home?" Alphys asks.

"Sure," I reply. "That would be really nice."

Alphys stands and makes her way to the door. I follow along behind her. Together, we walk through the castle and out into the city. I can't help thinking about Chara, and how they probably used to walk along these exact streets. Maybe something good could come from our rather strange situation. " _I'll have to ask them more about determination,_ " I think. " _If I have to use it again someday, I'll need to know more about it._ "

I look over at my girlfriend. She walks calmly beside me, her eyes focused on something off in the distance. Even after everything we've been through, she's still here. She's here, and she's safe. With Frisk finally gone, we all are. A sense of peace settles over me. I walk on, feeling lighter and happier than I have in days.

We're going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But there’s still a teeny bit more, so this isn’t QUITE the end yet. :)


	19. Epilogue (Asgore)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore comes to a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, before we get into this last bit of story, I’d just like to take a moment to say a few (probably very sappy) words.
> 
> I can’t thank all of you enough for all the support you’ve shown this series and for all the lovely comments, it means so much to me. Undyingtale has been one heck of a writing journey for me, and I’m glad to have been able to share it with you. :)

The castle is quiet and still--the only sounds I can hear are those of the two Royal Guards stationed outside my study. They chat quietly with each other, their words muffled by the wall between us. It sounds like they're standing right outside the door. " _They seem to be doing their jobs well. I should let Undyne know, I am sure that would set her mind at ease._ " I chuckle, remembering how insistent she was when she told me that she would have at least one member of the Royal Guard near me at all times in case of any further danger. I glance over at the clock nearby. " _Although it is too late to call her now, I suppose. Oh well, I can let her know in the morning._ "

I pick up my pen and look down at the paper resting on my desk in front of me. Scribbles and crossed-out words cover its surface. " _There is no way to explain this situation delicately, is there? But the other monsters must know about this. If another human ever falls, they must know that they cannot absorb its soul at any cost,_ " I say to myself, rubbing my forehead worriedly. " _The effects this could have... The last thing everyone needs right now is something that will cause a panic. But I have no choice. I have no choice._ "

I sit still for a moment, staring at the half-finished speech. I put my pen to the paper and begin to write. I write about the human's plans. About the nature of souls. About Alphys's research. About Undyne's future. But when I get to the part of the speech where I had planned to talk about the Barrier, I stop. True, we have seven human souls now, but, unless Alphys's research yields new information, it's too dangerous to use them. And since Undyne has one of the souls, we effectively only have six. Unless... " _Unless she absorbs the other souls as well._ "

For whatever reason, this is the first time that this particular idea has occurred to me. It could simply be because of all of the other things that are weighing on my mind, or perhaps I never thought of it out of some subconscious desire to keep my friend safe. Either way, that thought is in my head now and there's no getting rid of it.

" _No, I will not do that. I cannot ask that of Undyne, not after everything she has been through. She would agree to it if I asked her, yes, but at what cost to herself? If the other souls manage to take over they could destroy her and everyone else,_ " I think. " _I will_ not _let that happen._ "

Getting to my feet, I pace around the little room. " _We have to break the Barrier somehow and we have to do it soon. We need to find some way to bury the hatchet between monsterkind and humankind once and for all, or we will all be killed. And if there is any future conflict, a monster with seven human souls could be a valuable weapon._ " I wince. " _Is that all she would be? A weapon? A bargaining chip?_ "

What a choice I've given myself. My friend or my entire kingdom, everyone who counts on me to lead them. I already know which option I'll choose. Which one that I have to choose. I walk back to my desk and sit down. Taking a deep breath, I cross out the part of my speech about the Barrier. " _I have to ask her, but I will not do so yet. She needs time to heal. And unless Alphys's research proves that it is safe to absorb more souls, I will not ask her at all. I will not make her bear that burden unless there are no other options,_ " I promise myself. " _Now, what shall I tell the others?_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Undyingtale is going to be a trilogy! I can’t say when the third (and final) part will be done, as I have several other projects I’m working on (and I tend to be a bit of a slow writer, at times; hopefully I’ll be better about that now), but I’m going to do it at some point in the future. I really enjoy writing this AU, and I think that there’s still some more story to tell.
> 
> Stay determined!


End file.
